MLP: Reapers Redemption
by JioafiaTheNoob
Summary: An assassin of questionable origin awakes in a cell with a recognizable figure rushing up to them. Spirited away to Equestria, she finds new purpose in the guarding of a young unicorn with a gift for magic. But will she succeed in keeping this unicorn safe? Or will her past rear its head and cause chaos?
1. Prologue

Prologue: Reapers Chance

The drab nature of this distant land was oppressive. Dull shades of grey and brown blanketed everything in sight. The jagged mountains seemed to scratch at the sky, while the clouds would ravage the land below with hail and lightning. Towns and homesteads were reduced to rubble as hills would collapse from their own weight. A lone castle stood out among the terrible scenery, though this castle was not much better. Moss and vines grew on every inch of this colossal stone structure, with shattered statues and serrated ramparts. Clustered around the outskirts of this dirty city were various mines, all either abandoned or collapsed. At a glance, one would assume this city to be completely abandoned. A closer look would grant the knowledge that even amidst the wreckage, some ponies were trying to eke out a living.

These ponies were visibly terrified about something. A rumour on the wind, spoken in hushed whispers. Rumours of 'The Reaper Assassin'. These rumours were widespread, reaching far off kingdoms and civilizations. Some ponies shied away from these rumours, while others grew intrigued. One of these ponies was headed to this dreadful kingdom in pursuit of this 'rumour'. A white-haired alicorn with a long horn and a glimmering mane in the colors of an aurora. She had a plan for this 'reaper'. According to the rumour she had heard, the pony in question had been imprisoned. For what reason was unclear, but she didn't care.

Approaching the castle, this aurora maned pony snuck into a side building, leading to the prison. Some of the guards on the way seemed aloof, as they were sleeping on duty. 'Thank goodness' was the first thought that crossed this pony's mind. 'If they were awake, this would cause a lot of trouble'.

"HEY! Who goes there?!" A guard had awoken and started to pursue the comparably bright coloured pony. Not wanting to enter any conflict, she hurried as fast as her legs would carry her down into the depths of the prison. reaching what seemed to be a dead-end, she glanced into each of the anti-magic cells. In the cell furthest into the tunnel, she spied a lone pony, an alicorn, trapped within. This pony had dirtied, dark purple hair, with an ashen grey mane and tail. She was holding up her head, looking at the sudden 'guest' outside the cell.

"…Why are you here? Do you have business with me?" The alicorn said, weakly.

"I had come here looking for you. I plan to take you from this place, and have you return with me. Might you tell me your name?" The white-haired alicorn stated plainly.

"As if we have the time, turn around." The incarcerated alicorn gestured to the tunnel behind the guest. A group of guards were beginning to turn the corner, spears in hoof. "Get me out of here and I'll deal with them. Don't, and you will be imprisoned along with me. Surely you have heard who I am?" Without another word, the white-haired alicorn used a blast of magic from her horn, blasting the lock of the cell into pieces. "I would recommend you look away. This won't be pretty." Stepping out of the cell, the newly freed alicorn gathered energy into her horn. At a closer inspection, the horn was in the shape of a double-helix spiral, ending in two points. The energy only gathered on one half of this horn, and it was an energy far darker than most spells.

"What... are you?" Said the, now confused, white-haired alicorn.

"A lot of things. Reaper, assassin, warlock. At least, that's what I have been labelled as." As soon as she had finished speaking, she rushed forwards, completing her spell. In an instant, a wicked scythe lined with blackened ivory appeared in the reapers maw. Almost instinctively, the white-haired alicorn closed her eyes, and when she opened them, the guards were gone. No signs remained of the guards' presence.

"Wh- what did you do to them?" She stammered, worried about the implications.

"It would be better if you didn't know. The less you know of me the better. Shall we leave?" A cynical tone had entered into the dirtied alicorns voice. She seemed impatient and wanted nothing more than to be rid of the situation.

"Of course. Let us be off." Gathering herself, she started to move back down the hall.

"Hold. This way is safer." With a brief inspection of the wall, the scythe-bearing alicorn pushed a cracked brick out of place, and a doorway opened. "I learnt of this during my work. It leads through a blind spot in the guards watch."

* * *

They had been flying for a while. Undisturbed by the guards, they headed south-east, back towards the home of the aurora-maned alicorn. Trying to ease the tension, she says "Would you mind telling me your name?"

After a brief hesitation, she caved. "…Yamano. Yamano Sagiri."

"Well then Yamano, I have a proposition for you."

"And that would be what, your majesty?" Taken aback at these words, the alicorn princess glanced back towards Yamano.

"You know of me?" She asked inquisitively.

"I have heard your description. You are hard not to recognize. You are Celestia, correct? What could you possibly want with me?" Yamano seemed annoyed. Whatever Celestia said next had to be plain, to be sure.

"I wish for you to protect a dear student and close friend of mine. She will be entering an unfamiliar situation, and I would not want anything to happen to her." The princess spoke with caution. "I would not ask anything impossible of you, and I would not ask for you to take another life."

"Then you DO know who I am. Why choose a murderer to protect somepony?! Why risk your life and freedom to save somepony like me?!" The still dirty alicorn spoke with a distressed tone, as if this was the first act of kindness anybody had given her.

"Because I believe in redemption. Consider this a chance at a new life." The princess spoke with a calming tone, trying to ease the wariness possessing the assassin. "I believe there is good in anypony, and all they need is a little help to find it."

Yamano was quiet for a long time after that. Her internal dialogue written across her face as she considered the proposal Celestia had given her. Eventually, she sighed, and turned to face the princess. "I will do as you ask. I will protect your student. Though I still do not see why you would go to such lengths to hire a guardian. Surely a guard captain from your kingdom would suffice?"

"I believe that you would suit the role far greater than a stuffy guard from a castle. You have seen more of the world, you have seen its dangers and returned unscathed." Celestia threw a knowing look at the newly appointed guardian.

"I won't argue with you there." Yamano looked down at the ground far below, with a gloomy expression. "Though I believe i- "

Celestia cut her off with a slight chuckle. "Please, do not speak to me as if I am royalty. Outside of the palace you should be able to speak how you would normally."

Yamano considered the princesses words. 'THIS is a princess of Equestria? No wonder they need a guardian… Well s***, might as well.' After a long sigh, all the reaper had to say was "I've seen way too much ugliness and experienced incredible amounts of pain. I guess you could call me…. Unstable? I just don't believe I was your first choice." The sudden change in speaking caught Celestia by surprise. "I mean surely you considered SOMEPONY other than the reaper assassin of rumour? It almost feels like you're asking to get somepony killed." The aggravation of years of imprisonment started catching up with Yamano. After catching herself about to start rambling, she breathed deep, sighed and asked, "So do you want me to start right away?"

Celestia tried in vain to hide her laughter. "I suppose we should get you cleaned up first. We are not far from Canterlot now. I will have a bath prepared for you, and then I shall introduce you to your new charge."

"Alright then. I have been in that cell for a while now. Might be nice to remember what cleanliness feels like."

Celestia decided to press her luck. "If you wouldn't mind my asking, why were you imprisoned?"

"I betrayed my king." The guardian stated bluntly. "I would not follow his orders and drew my scythe to face him."

"And your horn? Why is it shaped like that, and what spell did you use that was so dark?" Celestia said this with concern that she did not even realise she had.

"That… is a longer story. Unicorns in our kingdom sometimes are birthed with twin horns that twist together in various shapes. Each time this happens, the unicorn in question is born with two specific specialisations in terms of their magic. The magic is split evenly between the two parts of the horn, each half being a different element. Each pairing of elements is named with a title. For example, if you were born with affinities for fire and earth, you would be named a Geomancer. I was named a Warlock. A dangerous title for a dangerous nature. A warlock is comprised of light and dark. However, these two elements, while necessary for each other's existence, are opposed so completely that when combined by a warlock, it causes terrible things to occur. The resulting magic can grow and consume on its own, and if not controlled, will cause devastation to surrounding Eco-systems and structure. That's why the spell I used earlier was so dark. It's because I used only the dark half of my magic."

Yamano glanced back at Celestia, who fell slightly behind while listening. The look on the princess's face could only be described as dumbfounded. "S- so, you could also use light-based magic on its own too?"

"Yes, but each half of my magic is specialized towards certain aspects of magic. I can't manipulate objects, for example, because that is more arcane in nature. Teleportation is off the table too… the- " Yamano sighed. "I will go into the specifics later but let's just say my magic is… limited in its use."

"Maybe, just for now, we can forget that I asked?" The look on the princess' face was that of complete bewilderment.

"Alright then. Let us fly in silence for a while. Though I wish we could walk…" Yamano stretched out one of her shoulders at this and looked onward towards the horizon. She finally had a chance at a new life, and she was determined not to let it go to waste.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter one hype! I've tried to avoid having such a long section of speech like in the prologue. Should have mentioned earlier, but this is my first fanfic I've tried to write out fully! Patience is appreciated, and feedback even more so. Hope you enjoy :D**_

Chapter 1: The summer sun celebration

Yamano had never seen anything like it. After spending her life in her dark and gloomy kingdom, she couldn't get used to the bright colours of this new place. "I had heard rumours, but this is ridiculous… Equestria looks rather vibrant." Yamano mused. "Don't be surprised if it takes me a while to adjust."

"I would not expect you to be at home in Equestria straight away. I have seen your kingdom first hoof, after all." Celestia stated plainly. "Ah, here we are. The bath is ready just through those doors. I will come and check up on you later." The princess gestured towards a decorated single door.

Yamano didn't know what to think. Not only this door, but the entire kingdom of Equestria that she has seen so far has been far brighter in color and light than her own kingdom. Nothing seemed to be in disrepair either. The buildings in Canterlot alone were at least three times the size of the dwellings she grew up with.

"Such a fancy door for such a simple addition to a home. You're sure this is just a bathroom?" Yamano said in obvious amazement.

All Celestia seemed to be able to do was laugh and walk off. "Head out towards the library when you are done. You will meet your charge there." Celestia spoke with a tone of ambiguity. Yamano wasn't pleased.

'What do you mean 'charge'... I feel like this is going to be harder than I thought.' Yamano considered what could happen for a while before giving up and heading into the bathroom to clean herself up. Upon opening the door and looking up, she froze on the spot. '…This is insane… Th- this bathroom is gargantuan.'

* * *

There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Yamano called out quickly, slightly annoyed at the sudden intrusion.

"I came to make sure you are okay. Anything you need?" Celestia pushed her head through the door and looked at the recently appointed guardian. Now that Yamano was a little cleaner, Celestia could see her features more clearly. The matted grey hair covering most of her face was now neatly combed through, with a cyan streak slicing through the middle. Her tail was split straight down the centre, ending in two points, though not twisted together like her horn. On her rump, her cutie mark was on perfect display. A bright purple shield with a spiked top. Her eyes were a brilliantly deep blue. Her wings however, looked under-developed, almost as if she had never used them much in her life. "I knew you would look better after a bath" Celestia teased with a giggle.

"Wha- *ahem* hello, princess. I am almost done here. And no, I don't need anything." Yamano was surprised at the princess' sudden visit. "Where exactly is this library I am looking for?"

Celestia took a moment to consider, before saying "It is in a tower a short ways from here. It is hard to miss, as it is almost as tall as the observatory tower."

"Thank you. I will head there right away." Yamano stated formally. With a slight flick of her head, and a burst of dark energy, she covered her body in a shadow, which fell away to reveal her own desired outfit. It was made of coarse cloth and rugged leather and was completely black. It covered her left legs, but kept her right legs uncovered. It had a hood attached, but it was not being utilized. She made sure her wings were hidden underneath her clothing.

Celestia was taken aback by the sudden appearance change. She tried to gather her thoughts. "I didn't know you cared about fashion" she said cautiously.

"I don't. this is just what I've always worn." Yamano seemed to reminisce for a second. "And its unlikely to change" Yamano added with a slight glance towards Celestia. "I grew up in a dull environment, remember?"

Celestia sighed at this. "Yes, yes, I remember. But do not think for a moment that excuse will last forever." Celestia looked knowingly at the moody alicorn. "I shall leave you to it then." Yamano only nodded as a response.

* * *

Coming up to a set of double doors, Yamano stopped to gather herself before she entered. 'Whoever this pony is, I hope they aren't too much of a hoofful…' she thought grimly to herself. 'I can't protect some-pony if they do not allow me to do so.'

Almost as if it was on cue, a blur of a pony came speeding past her, and barreled through the double doors. Before Yamano could even process what had just happened, she heard the voice of the pony in question. She was still surprised enough to not be able to process what they were saying, but they sounded flustered. 'Here we go, I guess.' With a deep sigh, she moved forward to push open the door. "Hello?" Yamano called out cautiously. What she saw was a young, light purple pony pouring over a book, and a small dragon stacking more books on a high up shelf. Seeing that she didn't get a response, she spoke again, this time a little louder. "Hello?!"

At the sudden increase in volume, the young pony whipped around. "Oh! Uh, hi… I didn't hear you enter. Can- can I help you?" She asked cautiously.

Yamano rolled her eyes. "I've been sent by the princess. I'm supposed to be your protector. Or something along those lines. The name's Yamano Sagiri."

"Yamano?" the young pony looked quizzically at the pony in question. "What kind of a name is Yamano?"

The guardian sighed and started scouring the titles on the bookshelf to try and find something that can help. "No books on my kingdom, huh...? well, never mind. I hail from a kingdom further out than you are probably used to. I was brought here by Celestia to act as a guardian."

"Oh! Well, I'm Twilight Sparkle, and that's Spike. Sorry, but you caught me at an unfortunate time, there's something I need to research right now. Spike! Where's that copy of Predictions and Prophecies that was here?" With that, she turned her attention to the books again, pulling them off the shelves with her magic, getting visibly and audibly frustrated as she couldn't find the correct one. Yamano absently looked about, before spotting the dragon from earlier, pull out a book from the shelf, before his face lit up with recognition.

Yamano cleared her throat before saying "I'd look up if I were you. Seems Spike found something."

Twilight followed the pony's gaze up towards an exceedingly high shelf, which Spike was next to on a ladder, holding out Predictions and Prophecies. She immediately grabbed the book with her magic, pulling spike off the ladder. At this, Yamano immediately maneuvered underneath the tiny dragon to break his fall. "Are you alright, Spike?" Yamano asked with haste.

"*sigh* Yeah I'm fine. In a rush much, twilight?" Spike said, seemingly used to the complete disregard for his safety given by Twilight.

Twilight let all the other books she was holding up fall to the ground. Glancing at the mess, Yamano moved to start picking up the loose books and gathered them together. Turning her attention back to Twilight, all she could hear was her muttering "Elements, elements, elements…" while rapidly flipping through pages in the book. Eventually, Twilight whispered to herself again and settled on a page. "The Elements of Harmony… see 'Mare in the Moon'?"

At the mention of this, Spike muttered in confusion. "Mare in the Moon? But, that's just an old ponies' tale."

Yamano, who was exceedingly confused at this point, could do nothing but watch in awe as the efficiency of Twilights reading and the tidy nature of Spikes book-sorting continued in full force. Glancing over the shoulder of the young pony, she noticed a page flip by in the blink of an eye, with what looked like, well, a mare in a moon. "You missed it. Page forward about 23 times."

Twilight froze, flipped forward twenty-three pages, and looked at the page. Sure enough, it was a page on the old legend of the Mare in the Moon. She turned towards Yamano with a look of shock. "how- how did you see that? I thought I was the best at reading, and I completely missed it…"

Yamano shook her head. "I have an eye for detail, but when it comes to actually reading, I'm worthless. I saw the illustration on that page there." She said with a slight tone of annoyance and gestured at the page on the right. "Find what you need?"

Twilight went straight back to the book. "The Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times, a powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria. Defeated by the elements of harmony and imprisoned in the moon."

"That sounds good." Yamano interjected with an ounce of sarcasm

"Very funny." Twilight stated bluntly. "Now where was I? Ah, yes. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about night time eternal!" she ended on a gasp.

"Huh. Well that sounds bad." Yamano muttered, this time with a serious tone. "And I suppose you think that day is coming soon…?" Yamano looked at Twilight with an expectant look on her face.

Before she could get an answer, Spikes' ladder fell backwards as he was stacking more books. Before Yamano had a chance to do anything about it, Twilight was already underneath Spike, who landed on her back. Without even asking if he was okay, she handed him a scroll and quill.

"Aren't you at least gonna see if Spike is uninjured?" Yamano snapped at Twilight.

"Spike's fine, see?" She turns slightly to the side. "Nothing to worry about."

"That's not the-… *sigh* Whatever… Just looking out for your friends' safety is all…" Yamano walks off, trying to calm herself down. 'Don't blow up at the person you have been enlisted to protect. That'd just… complicate things.' Yamano was so caught up trying to calm down she almost missed Spike breathing fire on the parchment. This caught her off guard. 'What good will THAT do?!... Unless it's magic fire? It wouldn't surprise me if it was.' Yamano considered what could possibly have happened to the parchment but gave up. "Why did he do that?" She asked warily.

"Oh, right! You wouldn't know about that. Spikes fire sends the letters straight to Princess Celestia. She can send letters to Spike too." As if her words had summoned it, Spike belched out a small burst of flames, and in its wake appeared another letter. "There! I knew she would want to take immediate action!" Twilight responded without hesitation.

Yamano turned to walk out of the library, earning a confused look from Twilight. "I wouldn't want to intrude on your private business with the Princess. I'll be right outside." However, before Yamano had a chance to exit, Spike called out to her.

"You're mentioned in here too. Shouldn't you stay?"

At those words, Yamano stopped completely. It was almost as if time itself had frozen for her. After a moment of consideration, Yamano sighed again. "Alright, alright… Lets here it then." She started walking back towards the unlikely pair.

Spike cleared his throat and began reading. "My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence, and that I trust you completely. But you simply MUST stop reading those dusty old books." Twilight gasped at that. "My dear twilight, there is more to a young ponies life than studying. So, I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the summer sun celebration in this years location, Ponyville. And~ I have an even more essential task for you to complete. Make some friends." Twilight groaned. "I would also like a certain pony by name of Yamano to accompany you, to make sure you make the trip safely, and so that you do not get yourself into any trouble."

Yamano sighed at the prospect. "At least my job shouldn't be very difficult..." She mumbled to herself. "So, shall we get going then, 'my liege'?" She said with a mocking half-smile.

Twilight jabbed Yamanos' side with her hoof. "Don't call me that."

* * *

The chariot ride to Ponyville was awkward. Neither pony was comfortable around each-other yet, as they had met a mere twenty minutes prior. Twilight was looking moodily over the side, while Yamano took the time to do some impromptu maintenance on her scythe. This earned a concerned look from Spike, who had never seen a pony wielding a scythe before. A single black gem embedded into the shaft caught Spikes attention, as the gem did not reflect or refract the light, but instead seemed to slightly draw it in.

Yamano caught a glimpse at Spike staring at that gem and dismissed her scythe. "Can I help you?" She said with a slight hint of mockery in her voice.

"Uh… I-I was just wondering what that gem was. Its nothing like I've ever seen before." Spike muttered hesitantly.

"Is that all?" The pony looked at Spike curiously. "It used to be a normal topaz. An enchantment was placed upon it by… some-pony with great power. It draws in all light around it, including light from spells cast in its immediate vicinity. It… Isn't the safest, I suppose, but it will be fine as long as I am the one who wields it." She looked at Spike with a serious expression. "Which means no, you can't eat it."

"Oh. Okay… Wait how did you know I want to eat it?!" Spike asked with surprise.

"My kingdom has multiple books on dragons, you know. It was common knowledge." Yamano said with a distant tone. "Now please, no more questions. I'd rather not remember that place." She turned away. 'Probably for the best that I don't mention our... History involving dragons.'

Minutes passed in silence. Yamano had a sour look on her face, and Twilight was still sulking. Spike decided to break the tension and turned his attention towards Twilight. "Hey Twilight, cheer up. Princess Celestia arranged for you to stay in a library, remember?"

Twilight perked up at the prospect. "You know what? That HAS cheered me up. You know why? Because I'M right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, THEN get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moons return."

Yamano sighed. "You're going all in on this Nightmare Moon situation, huh? Shouldn't you go about this calmly?"

"Well can you blame me? This is a HUGE deal." Twilight responded with a look of someone who was about to panic.

'Why did I get stuck protecting the biggest worry wort in Equestria…' Yamano turned her attention away from Twilight again and started nursing her right side, where the base of her wing would be if it wasn't hidden. "Are these aches ever going to leave?..." Yamano spoke without realising, earning another look of concern, this time from Twilight.

"Are you okay? You look like you're in pain." The young unicorn looked genuinely worried. This threw Yamano off her usual rhythm. She wasn't used to the notion that some-pony cared about her wellbeing.

Yamano rolled her eyes after a while. "I've avoided travelling large distances for a large part of my life. Yesterday I had to go continuously for over fifteen hours. I could barely move when I arrived, whereas Celestia seemed perfectly fine having flown TO my kingdom and then walked back again…" Yamano spoke with contempt. "Ever since I was little, I've hated travel, so my stamina has always taken a bit of a hit. So yeah. I'm in pain." The slight hint of anger in Yamanos voice made Twilight feel nervous.

"Are you… Are you okay?" Twilight asked hesitantly.

The look of anxiety on Twilights face forced Yamano to calm down. 'Way to go you idiot… Apologize already.' She considered her words for a long time. "Sorry Twilight. I'm just a little on edge. I wasn't expecting to have to remember my past so soon. Ignore me if I seem annoyed or angry about something. Just… Don't expect to get any further details." She said slowly and purposefully. The group settled into another tension filled silence.

Spike interjected again, trying to break the reawakened tension between the two. "So, Twilight, when are you going to make friends like the princess asked?"

Twilight brushed off the question. "She SAID to check on the preparations. I am her student and I will do my royal duty. The fate of Equestria does NOT rest on me making friends."

"But wouldn't it be funny if it did?" Yamano said with a prod.

"If it did Equestria would be doomed." Twilight said with a giggle. The tension was a distant memory at this point.

"So, what's first on our list?" Yamano looked expectantly at Spike.

"Huh? Why are you looking at me?" Spike looked puzzled.

Twilight chimed in. "Because you're the one holding the letter."

Spike looked down at his claws, still holding the letter. "Oh. Heh. Right."

The chariot touched down onto the ground with a somewhat sudden stop, catching Yamano off guard again. She almost tumbled out but caught herself and rolled to a standing position. She shook out the dirt that had found its way into her mane. When she looked back to the chariot, Twilight and Spike were giggling. Twilight got out of the chariot and thanked the two Pegasi that drew it.

Yamano noted Spikes excitement about the new area. It seemed that he, along with Twilight, hadn't left Canterlot very much.

"I wonder if the ponies of Ponyville have interesting things to talk about!" Spike said while slightly bouncing up and down. "Come on Twilight, just try talking to someone!"

The trio turned and started walking down the main street, and immediately saw a bright pink pony approaching them. As they drew near, Twilight was the first to speak. "Uh… Hello?"

As soon as she had finished speaking, the pink pony in question let out a huge gasp and bolted in a blur. This left all three speechless as they looked where the pony used to be. Yamano broke the silence. "That could have gone better… I think?"

Twilight responded with a hint of annoyance. "It was certainly interesting to be sure." All Spike could do was sigh.

* * *

As the three were walking along, Spike was reading a checklist with instructions on what needed checking for the summer sun celebration.

"What's first, Spike?" Yamano asked.

"Let's see… Banquet preparations from Sweet Apple Acres. It's just over there isn't it?" Spike asked with an excited tone.

"Don't tell me you're hungry, Spike? I could have sworn you were snacking earlier…" Yamano said in a bored tone.

Spike looked back in a slight panic. "What? No! Of course n-" Spike was cut off as his stomach rumbled. Yamano and Twilight looked at each other skeptically. "Heh. So maybe I am a little hungry."

Twilight started giggling to herself. "Same old Spike. Always thinking of food."

Yamano pointed a hoof towards an arch with a sign hanging off it. "I take it that's Sweet Apple Acres?"

The arch in question had vines and flowers growing in the wooden mesh, and the sign had the shape of an apple cut out of it. Beyond the archway was a large house – or was it a barn? – With red walls and white highlighted edges. All things considered, it was one of the plainer buildings in Ponyville. Beyond the house in question were acres of what were presuming to be sweet apple trees.

"Doesn't look terrible I suppose." Yamano mused. 'I wonder how- '

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud "Yeehaw!" somewhere off to their right. Her head immediately snapped over to where the sound came from, and she along with Twilight saw an orange coated yellow haired pony wearing a cow-pony hat run up to and buck an apple tree. Almost immediately, the apples came tumbling off the tree all at once. Yamano was flabbergasted.

"That is NOT how that works." The grey maned pony said with her jaw hanging open. "Is that how that works Twilight? You probably know more about physics than I do."

Twilight gave a slight pause. "I have no idea." She sighed and started walking towards the pony in question. "Let's get this over with…" After walking a short distance, she raised her head higher and spoke with formality. "Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle."

As soon as she was finished speaking, the orange pony was immediately right next to Twilight. They grasped her hoof and forced her into an excessively powerful hoof-shake. "Well, howdy do, miss Twilight! A pleasure makin' yer acquain'ance! I'm Applejack!" She was still forcing the hoof shake, and Twilight was looking frazzled. "We here at Sweet Apple Acres, sure do like makin' new friends!"

Yamano chuckled. 'I like this gal. Seems pretty strong, too,'

Twilight tried to speak through the vigorous shaking of the hoof-shake. "Friends~? Actually-y-y I~ uh-"

Applejack let go at this point, but Twilight continued to shake. "So! What can I do ya for?" She gave a Twilight a wink.

Yamano grabbed hold of Twilights still shaking hoof, which was audible as it sliced through the air. Spike chuckled at the unicorns misfortune. Twilight cleared her throat. "Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration." She paused for a breath. "and you're in charge of the food?"

Yamano rolled her eyes. 'Guess I don't get introduced. Whatever.'

Applejack held her head up proudly. "We sure as sugar are! Wouldja care to sample some?"

Twilight had a half concerned look on her face. "As long as it doesn't take too long…"

Applejack zipped off somewhere before Twilight even finished speaking and started ringing a loud metal triangle. "Soups on, every-pony!"

Yamano felt immediate concern as the ground seemed to shift underneath her. "uh-oh. Bad. Bad bad BAD!" Yamano made a desperate dive for a spot about four meters away. Twilight and Spike looked at her, completely confused. Yamano simply pointed where the rumbling was coming from and merely said "Celestia help you both."

Twilight and Spike started to turn around, but before they could they were swept straight off their hooves and into the air by a veritable stampede of ponies. They were deposited down in front of a table. Applejack popped up out of nowhere right beside Spike. "Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple family."

Yamano immediately felt anxious. Large crowds were one of the biggest things she couldn't handle. She slowly started to make her way towards Twilights side of the table.

Twilight spoke up. "thanks, but I really need to hurr-" And before she could finish she was cut off again by an apple dish being thrust towards her face.

Applejack started introducing her family. "This here's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala-" each member of the family added another unique dish to the table. "Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apple, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp-" She took a large breath. "Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, and~" She shoved an apple whole into Twilights mouth. "Granny Smith. Up an' at 'em, Granny Smith! We got guests." The pony in question awoke with a start, absent mindedly mumbling "Soups on" and started meandering towards the table.

Yamano quietly jumped up and grabbed a plate of food off the top of the pile and started munching on it, while keeping an extremely fervent eye on the large group of ponies that showed up suddenly. She also panicked when she realized she didn't check the food for poison. It was a habit that used to be so ingrained into her mind and body that she started lightly bashing herself in the face with her hoof. 'IDIOT. Why didn't you CHECK!?'

The sudden movements caught Applejacks attention. "OH! Uh… an' who might you be?"

Yamanos eyes widened at the sudden address. After finishing her current mouthful, she spoke in a slightly hushed, shaky, and deeper than usual voice. "I'm Twilights bodyguard. Or something along those lines." She was sure her fearful dislike for crowds came through, and face-hoofed again.

Applejack chuckled at Yamanos timid response. "Ya got a name, miss bodyguard?"

Yamano hesitated, before introducing herself properly. Her voice normalizing as she was adjusting to the influx of attention.

Applejack couldn't keep back a short laugh. "Why I'd say you both are already part of the family!"

Those words caused Twilight to spit out the half-chewed apple that was still in her mouth. She nervously giggled before addressing the group. "Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way!"

A large portion of the apple family groaned in disappointment. Apple Bloom spoke up. "Aren't ya gonna stay for brunch?" She had an extremely sad look on her face, and was looking up towards Twilight.

Yamano shifted in place. It was obvious she didn't want to stay, but the look on the faces of the Apple family caught her by surprise. "It couldn't hurt, surely? What do you think, Spike?" All Spike did was shrug at the question. "Twilight? What about you?"

Twilights face fell, and said in an annoyed tone "Fine.". the whole Apple family cheered in unison at her agreement.

* * *

Yamano was in awe. No matter how hard they tried, the mountain of food in front of them never seemed to dwindle. Between mouthfuls, she glanced over at Applejack, who was silently comparing the three new arrivals. "Can I help you, Applejack?" Yamano said with a concerned shake to her voice.

Applejack seemed to snap out of a stupor. "Huh? Oh, uh, it's nothin'. I couldn't help but notice y'all seem to be a bunch ah misfits. I mean, you look like you've been workin' yer entire life, while Twilight over there… well, doesn't. Not to mention Spike. Maybe I'm just over thinkin' it."

Yamano rolled her eyes at the observation. "We come from two… rather different backgrounds. As far as I'm aware, Twilight spends most of her time studying and reading. Back where I'm from, I didn't have that luxury. Most of my days were spent with intensive, and dangerous, work."

Applejack chuckled again. "Well, let me know if ya need someplace to work that's a lil' less dangerous. Always willin' to help a pony out!"

These words hung on Yamanos mind for a while. Eventually she shrugged. "That depends on if you need some-pony with a lot of stamina or some-pony with raw strength. It would also depend on if Twilight needs me for anything."

Applejack stared through Yamano for a while, thinking about what would help. "I'd say strength is more useful around here. The stamina needed to do the things we do can be built up in no time at all."

The grey maned pony considered her words for a long while. "Strength isn't one of my stronger points… But, having some vigorous work might help improve that. Alright, let me know if there's anything I can help with. I bet it'd beat wandering Ponyville with nothing to do." After she finished speaking, she stretched out her shoulders. "The amount of food here is ridiculous…"

The orange pony started laughing at the sudden change in subject. But her laughter was cut short when Yamano had finished stretching, as suddenly, her right wing had poked out from underneath her clothes. She took a second to look Yamano over again, who hadn't seemed to notice. Sure enough, she had a horn, AND wings. Applejack exclaimed in a whisper. "You- you're an Alicorn?!"

Yamano froze in place immediately. She slowly turned her head to look at her right side, before hurriedly forcing her wing back underneath the leather tunic of her clothes. 'Great. And now that little tidbit has gotten out.' She snapped back towards Applejack, who seemed to be about to say something to the rest of the gathering. She placed a hoof over Applejacks mouth. "Not a word to ANY-PONY. Not even Twilight knows what I am." She spoke in a hushed voice, just barely audible to the farm pony.

Applejack nodded fervently. She responded in a whisper. "But I thought that the only alicorn was Princess Celestia. What's goin' on?"

Yamanos face dropped, and she looked down at the table. "Applejack, it's… it's a long story. One that I don't feel comfortable telling right now." She spoke so quietly; the farm pony had a hard time hearing. "Maybe another time, but right now is too early." Applejack sat in silence for a while. Eventually she looked back at Yamano.

"Well alright then. I'll try keep this under wraps for now. Let me know when ya get more comfortable about it." Applejack had a tone of genuine concern. This surprised the Alicorn to no end, as they had only just met each other and yet she spoke like they had known each other for years.

"Thank you." She turned her attention back towards her food. "This won't eat itself I guess." The sudden change in subject caused Applejack to laugh again.

* * *

"Food's all taken care of." Spike muttered to himself as the three were walking back down towards the main body of Ponyville. "Next is weather." He looked back to see Twilight struggling to walk, and Yamano looking like she had more energy than usual. Twilight groaned.

"I ate too much pie…" Twilight strained herself trying to get the words out.

"Too much pie? THAT's what did it? What about all the other food you ate?" Yamano spoke with skepticism.

Spike interjected with an inquisitive murmur. "There's supposed to be a Pegasus pony called Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds." Spike looked up to the sky, no Pegasi in sight.

"Wait, Pegasi clear the clouds?" Yamano asked with a look of shock on her face. "Back where I'm from the weather changes naturally."

Both Twilight and Spike whirled around in surprise. They looked back towards eachother, before deciding not to say anything about it. Twilight instead shook her head and turned to look up at the sky as well. "Well, she's not doing a very good job, is she?"

Yamano heard a disturbance in the wind. Quickly glancing about, she saw a rainbow blur come speeding towards Twilight. "Twilight look out!" She nudged the unicorn out of the way, and the blur hit into Yamano in full force, knocking them both down into the mud. The Alicorn pushed off the ground, and looked up to see a blue coated, rainbow maned Pegasus had fallen on top of her, also covered in mud. The Pegasus giggled at the situation.

"Uh, excuse me? Hahaha…" she started flying to get off the back of the muddied pony she had landed on, giggling all the while. "Let me help you." In an instant, she zipped away and brought back a rain cloud.

Yamano glared at the Pegasus. "Don't even think about it." The Pegasus was in mid hop as she was about to force the excess water out of the cloud.

"Aw, come on! It'll get the mud off!" without giving Yamano a chance to respond, she landed hard onto the cloud, causing a torrent of rain to blast out the bottom of it. The rain caught Twilight alongside Yamano, causing their manes to cover their eyes. The rainbow Pegasus started giggling nervously. "Oops, guess I over did it! Uh, how about this?" The Pegasus started flying full speed in a circle around the two, causing a whirlwind. "My very own, patented, Rainblow Dry!" As she flew, Yamano stuck out her hoof and caught the pegasus by the base of her wing.

"ENOUGH ALREADY." Yamano yelled through a grimace. She forced herself to calm down with a heavy sigh. "From the sounds of it, you're Rainbow Dash?" The Pegasus was squirming under her grip.

"Alright, alright I'm sorry! I didn't mean to crash into you!" Rainbow was still struggling against the alicorn, whose grip seemed disproportionate to her actual strength.

Yamano released her grasp. The mane of Twilight had become completely frizzy, and stood extraordinarily tall, while Yamanos still covered her eyes, just more rigidly this time. Both the Pegasus and Spike fell over laughing at the sight of the two.

Eventually the Pegasus got her bearings and responded in a dignified voice. "And yes, I am Rainbow Dash, THE one and only." She took off flying again, hovering over the trio. "Why? You heard of me?"

Twilight responded before Yamano could. "I HEARD you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear." She sighed. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the princess sent me to check up on the weather." At this point Rainbow Dash was lazing about on the same cloud as before.

"Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap! I'll do it in a jiffy, just as soon as I'm done practicing!" Rainbow Dash had a dismissive tone. This caught Yamanos attention.

"Practicing? For what?" Twilight looked and sounded confused.

Rainbow Dash whipped around, with a look of excitement and admiration in her eyes. "The Wonderbolts!" The sudden loud noise gave Yamano a headache. "They're gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow. And I'm gonna show em my stuff!"

Twilight looked skeptical. "THE Wonderbolts?" The Pegasus agreed excitedly. "The most talented flyers in ALL of Equestria?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "That's them!"

Yamano scoffed. "If you can't even clear the skies, how are you gonna impress the greatest?" The Alicorn looked up at the rainbow maned pony. "Tell you what, if you can do better than me, I'll put in the good word with them. I know how to make connections, so it'll be worth your while."

Rainbow Dash looked down at Yamano with a huge look of excitement and awe in her face. "You're ON!"

Yamano smirked. In a fluid motion, Yamano conjured her scythe, grasped it between her teeth, and flung it upward at a distant cloud. Within an instant, the cloud vanished with a puff, and the scythe vanished with it.

Rainbow Dash looked back and forth between Yamano and the place the cloud used to be. "What did- I mean, how did- I- you- what was THAT?!"

Yamano rolled her eyes. "Well? Your turn." Yamano impatiently kicked the ground, waiting for the Pegasus to make a move. "You have ten seconds before I consider this my victory."

The look on Rainbow Dash's face turned from shock to determination in an instant. She took off full speed, barreling through clouds, dispersing them upon contact. Yamano was keeping track in her head, and it took exactly ten seconds for rainbow dash to have finished the rest of the clouds off. She landed a ways off, on the fence of a nearby bridge. "How was that?!"

Twilight and Spike looked amazed, while Yamano was sarcastically clapping her hooves together. "Ten seconds flat. Well done." Both Rainbow Dash and Yamano looked over at Twilight, whose mouth was still hanging open. Rainbow started giggling.

"You should see the look on your face! Hah! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle, I can't wait to hang out some more!" She took off flying, doing a loop mid-air, before screeching to a halt, turning around and flying straight towards the scythe wielding pony again. "I uh, didn't catch your name, though."

"Oh. Right. That. I'm Yamano Sagiri, her guard escort." She motioned towards Twilight.

"So that's why your reflexes were fast enough to get her out the way! Not bad." And with that, she flew off again, vanishing into the distance in another blur.

Yamano rolled her eyes again. 'That one is going to be QUITE the hoof-full. Top of the list on ponies to keep an eye on.' She paused her thoughts for a moment, before accidentally saying "And she gives me such a headache…" Twilight looked at Yamano quizzically, while Spike was still staring at the place Dash used to be but a moment ago.

Spike broke the brief silence. "She's amazing!" Spike took a second to look at Twilight again, tried to hold back a giggle and started playing with part of the unicorns mane. Twilight groaned and started to wander off. "Wait! It's kinda pretty once you get used to it!"

* * *

Yamano was looking over Spikes shoulder as he fumbled with the list. 'He is so strange. I suppose I'll never understand dragons.'

Suddenly, Spike spoke up. "Decorations." Spike looked up from the list and froze. "Beautiful!" Twilight walked a ways ahead, her mane still frizzed to kingdom come.

"Yes, the décor is coming along nicely. This should be quick!" Twilight looked happy. "I'll be at the library in no time! Beautiful indeed."

Spike shook his head. "Not the décor, her~!"

Standing on a slightly raised platform in the middle of the town hall, there was a white coated Unicorn with a flowing purple mane and tail, with her cutie mark of three gems on prominent display. She was muttering to herself while manipulating and considering various decorations. "No. no. no~. OH! Goodness, no! Hmm…"

Yamano looked back towards Spike, who had literal hearts in his eyes. Before she could react, Spike started babbling. "How are my spines? Are they straight?!" Twilight shrugged at her companion, and started walking towards the unicorn in question.

"Good afternoon-" Twilight tried to grab her attention, but was cut off.

Barely allowing a glance over her shoulder, the unicorn immediately responded. "Just a moment, please! I'm in the zone, as it were." She cycled through another three decorations, before settling on one. "Ah, Yes! Sparkle ALWAYS does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you ARE a talent." The unicorn, whose name appeared to be Rarity, turned back towards Twilight. "Now, uhm, how can I help you-" She cut herself off upon laying eyes upon Twilight. "u-a-a-ahhh! Oh, my STARS! Darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure!"

Both Twilight and Yamano shared a confused glance. Something seemed to click in Twilights mind, however. "Oh, you mean, my mane? Well, it's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations, and then I'll be out of your hair!"

Rarity looked distressed. "Out of MY hair? What about your hair!" She started pushing Twilight towards the door of the hall.

Twilight looked confused and concerned at the same time. "Wait! Where are we going?! Help!" She turned her head to desperately look back towards Yamano.

The Alicorn looked at the situation, then back to Twilight, and shrugged. "As far as I can tell she's trying to help." Her voice caught Rarity's attention, causing her to briefly look back and catch another glimpse of Yamanos mane. "Oh! Not yours too! Come, darling! I'll fix yours for you as well!"

All Yamano could do was stare. After a moment she shrugged, sighed, and followed Rarity and Twilight towards the door. Looking back at Spike just before she passed the threshold, she could have sworn Spike was floating after them, using his tail as a propeller. 'The things love does to dragons, I guess.

Rarity dragged the group back to her boutique. Yamano noted how fancy the decorations were for this place, everything in some varying shade of purple and white, aside from the yellowish orange curtains and emblem.

Standing in front of a full body mirror were Twilight and Rarity. Yamano payed little attention to what Rarity was doing, as after she had fixed Twilights mane, she decided to have the purple Unicorn try on many of her outfit designs. As Rarity seemed to settle on an outfit for Twilight, Yamano decided to zone back in on the conversation.

"Now go on, my dear, you were telling me where you're from." Before Twilight had a chance to answer, Rarity pulled on something incorporated into the clothing, tightening it and disallowing Twilight to draw in a large enough breath to speak.

Through pained whispers, Twilight tried to answer. "I've… been sent, from Canterlot!...to…-" At the mention of Canterlot, Rarity gasped, and accidentally let go of the cords tightening the clothes onto Twilight, sending them both flying in opposite directions.

"Canterlot?! Oh, I am so ENVIOUS, the glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed~ of living there! I can't wait to hear ALL about it! We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I!" Rarity could barely contain her abundance of excitement, her voice rising in pitch multiple times through her speech.

At the mention of friends, Twilights face dropped. Before she could string together a coherent thought, Yamano decided to say something to change the subject. "Hey, you sure emerald was the best choice for that outfit, Rarity?"

The fashionista looked back towards Twilight, and her face fell. "EMERALD?! What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!"

Twilight was done with Rarity's shenanigans. "Quick! Before she decides to dye my coat a new color!" Spike sighed in amorous bliss, before Twilight scooped him up onto her back, and left the boutique.

Her protector, however, decided to stay put for a little while. She would never admit it openly, but she had a fascination for fashion, and by extension fashion designers. Plus, she still needed to get her own mane sorted, as it was still a complete mess.

Rarity came strolling back through the room, before glancing about and looking disappointed that Twilight had vanished. It wasn't long until she saw Yamano again, who was staring about the boutique, drinking in the myriad of designs that were on display.

"Did you not want to follow your friend, darling?" Rarity asked with a hint of sadness in her voice.

It took a few moments before Yamano responded. "I still need my mane fixed. Plus…" she trailed off, looking about the boutique again.

Rarity gave Yamano a knowing look. "Are you interested in fashion, my dear? I'm always in need of a new model, so if you want to stick around, I believe I could find something here for you."

The twin-horned pony spent another long while having a quiet debate with herself. 'I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let her know too… I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested. But then what if she decides to stick me in something regal, or royal? Although I suppose she would take personal interest into account…' Yamano sighed to herself, before turning back to look at Rarity. "I'd love to. But anything you see must be kept to yourself, alright?"

The white coated unicorn gave her a look of confusion. "Alright, but I do not understand what could make you say that, darling. In my eyes you look simply divine."

Rarities speech was cut off by a hollow laugh, originating from Yamano. One half of the reapers horn started glowing and pulsing with an energy of pure darkness. This frightened Rarity to no end, as she was not aware of a type of magic so dark. After a short while, the darkness from Yamanos horn started to spread across her body, making her clothing seemingly melt away. In it's place, Rarity saw the underdeveloped wings try to unfurl to their full length but failing half way and cramping to her side. Along her right wing, a spider-web of scars had left their mark. On her front left leg, another, much larger scar was prevalent running down the center.

Rarity simply looked on in shock, as Yamano started to approach the full-body mirror Twilight stood in front of earlier. "Do you see why I always wear that outfit of mine now? Not only are the scars hideous, but I'm trying to keep the fact I'm an alicorn on the down low. Which is why I must ask you not tell anyone of what you have seen here."

Yamano turned to look at Rarity, but all she found was a gaze of careful consideration. She tried to grab the unicorns attention. "Well? Anything to say?"

The fashionista looked up in a slight daze at the sudden question. "What? Oh, right, that. Don't worry, my dear, I will not tell a soul." Rarity stepped closer, her face unchanging. "Never mind that, this is the first time I have ever had to design for an alicorn. I just don't want to mess this up." The scars had gone seemingly unnoticed.

The alicorn sighed away the last of her tension. "If you do come up with something, I do care about practicality in what I wear. I don't mind if it looks good, but if I can't use it outside of fancy dress then I'm uninterested."

Her request was cut short by a light giggle from Rarity. She looked directly into Yamanos eyes and shook her head. "The scarring isn't hideous, darling." Yamano couldn't help but chuckle.

* * *

'That took longer than I thought. But hey, at least I got something out of it.' Yamano had finally left Rarity to her own devices, after a long session of outfit design. Rarity had insisted on something to show off the wings, but the Alicorn was adamant in keeping them hidden, so they compromised something heavier. It was a brilliantly deep blue silk, with amethysts weaved into the material. To go with it was a wispy and flowing scarlet cloak. Underneath the main dress was a white leather tunic to keep her wings hidden and flush to her side. All things considered, it wasn't her usual style, but she was happy to have something to wear that didn't remind her of home.

Looking around, the sky had grown darker with an exquisite amber hue. The time spent with Rarity had drained a lot of time, so Yamano decided to head to the library where Twilight was supposed to be staying. Navigating this vibrant town proved difficult, however. On multiple occasions she found herself back in the same place she started. It was almost fully into night-time before she located the library in question. What she wasn't expecting from a library was the sound of a party emanating from within. 'Something tells me this isn't Twilights doing. She would never have a party in a library.' Yamano hesitated right outside the door. 'Cramped spaces with lots of ponies all being loud. Why me?' She tentatively opened the door to the library, as her fears were confirmed. Earth ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, it looked like every pony in Ponyville turned up for what was probably a welcoming party for Twilight.

Gathered in a group nearby to Twilight were a familiar bunch, with one new face she didn't recognize. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, a yellow haired, pink maned pegasus and the pink earth pony from earlier were standing nearby, the pink one yammering on as Twilight was trying to have a drink. Suddenly, Twilight looked up, eyes watering, and it looked like her mane was on fire. This caught Yamano by surprise, and she started to quietly make her way over to her charge. She nodded to the three familiar faces as she tried to pass but was interrupted by the pink pony. The unfamiliar pegasus hid behind Rainbow Dash as Yamano approached.

"You're new too! I knew I didn't recognize you! Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie! I threw this party to welcome you two to Ponyville! Is it good? Do you like it? What's your name?" The veritable word vomit threw Yamanos head for a spin. She looked over at Applejack with a pleading look for some assistance.

"Alright, Pinkie, settle down. This here's Yamano. She arrived with Twilight and is her protector." Applejack said, cutting in front of Pinkies view.

Yamano nodded, avoiding eye contact with as many ponies as she could. Rarity came up to her and nodded approvingly. "I knew that blue and red would work with you. You look stunning, darling!"

"…Thanks." Yamano said in a quiet voice. It was painfully obvious crowds were not her forte.

"Come on, Fluttershy, say hi to the new girl!" Rainbow Dash's voice rang out over the group, trying to get the shy Pegasus to come to the fore-front.

Fluttershy merely shook her head and shrank further behind Rainbow Dash. "…She- she scares me…" Her voice was barely over a whisper, but the group still managed to hear her. Rainbow Dash giggled hysterically, Pinkie had wandered off to go eat a cupcake, and Applejack and Rarity shared a concerned glance. Eventually all eyes except Yamanos turned to Fluttershy.

"Whaddya mean, 'scares ya'? I don't see why she would. Maybe yer just paranoid." Applejack unknowingly shot a glance at where one of Yamanos wings would be.

"I agree, darling. As far as I can tell, she's perfectly fine to be around." Rarity simply marveled at Yamanos clothing again.

Fluttershy looked around the group in frustration. Eventually, she tried to look back at Yamano, but hid behind Rainbow Dash again. She tried to speak again, but the words failed her.

Eventually the awkward situation was cut short by Pinkie Pie, who seemed to appear out of thin air beside Yamano, offering a cupcake. "Here! Try this!"

Yamano glanced around in surprise, and hesitantly took the cupcake from the crazy pony. She sniffed at it, and immediately recognized the smell. "Hot sauce…" She stared at the cupcake for another ten seconds. "Here goes nothing." Yamano ate the whole cupcake in a single bite.

She should have expected the next sensation. It felt like her saliva had been replaced by magma, and her eyes felt like a waterfall was trying to force its way through. About twenty seconds passed without her even drawing a breath. Eventually, she managed to swallow the remnants of the spicy cupcake, and as she tried to breath out, a small torrent of flames erupted forth. This forced her to start coughing uncontrollably, before finally being able to take another breath. "Bad- *cough* Bad idea."

Rainbow Dash burst into hysterical laughter, and Pinkie Pie was looking at Yamano expectantly. Fluttershy seemed calmer after this, but still seemed incredibly wary. After a while, she built up the courage to speak, even if not very loud. "I know a dangerous predator when I see one…"

The strange statement caught everyone except Yamano by surprise, interrupting Dash's laughter, and causing everyone to turn to face her again. An unsettling silence fell upon the group as Fluttershy tried harder still to distance herself from the seemingly dangerous presence. Yamano was frozen in place, not allowing herself to move even a single muscle. This haze of anticipation lingered for what felt like eternity, until it was finally broken by Rarity.

"Yamano, dear, I'm sure she didn't mean-" The Alicorn cut her off by turning her head and walking towards the back-room of the library, the same way that she saw Twilight head earlier.

"It's fine. I know why she feels that way. It's not uncommon for some-pony to be afraid of me." Her tone had darkened, and there was a slight waver towards the start. "Maybe if I ever get a hold on my life I'll let you all know, but for now I'm afraid I'll have to keep that knowledge to myself." She refused to look back at the group, the look on her face would have given Fluttershy a heart attack.

As Yamano was about to enter the door, she heard in another part of the party the instantly recognizable voice of Pinkie Pie. "Time for pin the tail on the pony! Woo!" The guardian rolled her eyes and walked out.

"Twilight, you in here?" The lights were off, and a small trickle of moonlight was the only thing making this room visible. "I think I made a bad first impression on Fluttershy. Needed to give her some space. You okay?"

She was interrupted by the door opening again, this time Spike wandered through with a lampshade on his head. "Pinkie Pie is about to start pin the tail on the pony! Wanna play?!"

Yamano rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath.

Twilight looked like she'd had enough. "No! All the ponies in this town are CRAZY! Do you KNOW what time it is?!"

Spike merely shrugged. "It's the eve of the summer sun celebration. Everypony has to stay up, or they'll miss the princess raise the sun!" Twilight looked dismissively away, while Yamano had gone unnoticed by the tiny dragon. "You really should lighten up, Twilight. It's a party!"

Twilight merely mocked the way Spike was talking with unintelligible muttering as he left the room again. As she looked back at the door, she spotted Yamano standing slightly off to the side, leaning against a wall, and partially falling asleep.

"You okay Yamano? You seem exhausted." The unicorn queried sarcastically. "Was Rarity THAT boring to you?"

Yamano snapped up at the sudden noise. "I, uh, I haven't slept since getting to Equestria, which was… maybe about a day and a half ago. but it's no big deal." The protector tried to shrug off the question but ended up yawning heavily at the end of her answer. Twilight giggled at the irony. "Shouldn't you be heading to the celebration soon?"

"I suppose I should…" The concerned mare looked down at the floor, and then out the window towards the moon. "I hope the princess was right. I hope it really is just an old pony tale…"

Yamano appeared next to Twilight with unnatural agility, causing her to jump and fall off her bed. The alicorn offered a hoof to help her up. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, if she is released, couldn't we go find the elements?" Twilight merely shrugged with a sigh and started preparing to leave. Yamano wandered back downstairs, her brain not sitting still as ideas on how to best protect Twilight bombarded her without rest. 'Who am I kidding. If she is released, I'd have to not only protect Twilight, but anyone dumb enough to follow us.' Yamano sighed and rested her head on the wall. 'But that's only IF she's released. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.'

* * *

Yamano looked about in remiss. It seemed to her that every-pony from Ponyville had turned up to the town hall for the celebration. Try as she might, it was impossible to find a secluded corner to observe everyone, so she picked a spot by the left wall. Twilight and Pinkie Pie were standing somewhere towards the center, just within eyesight of the tired guardian. Being by the wall was the best position for her, as she could use the wall to give her momentum towards the area she needs to go or scale it in case something goes wrong in the immediate vicinity.

'Too many ponies.' She looked about again, realizing this seemingly small town was much larger than she gave it credit. 'Can't we just get this over with?'

Almost immediately, a group of five birds started singing a rehearsed song, with Fluttershy orchestrating. As the song ended, the mayor of Ponyville stepped up to speak. "Fillies and gentle-colts, as Mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" The entire hall of ponies (aside from Yamano and Twilight) erupted into cheers, before quickly settling down to let the tan pony speak. "In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year."

Yamano saw Twilight look away from the mayor and turn her eyes up towards the moon. Following her gaze, Yamano saw stars start to gather behind the moon, as it blinked with power. Yamano was entranced and didn't hear the rest of what the mayor had to say, up until she announced "Princess Celestia!" and turned to look back. As her eyes settled on the area above the mayor, she saw Rarity pull on a rope and pull back the curtains. Where she expected to see Celestia, was instead… nothing. There was no pony there. Every-pony was shocked and were muttering to each other. The Mayor continued with a worried expression. "Remain calm, every-pony. There must be a reasonable explanation." A few moments passed in almost complete silence, broken only by Pinkie Pie misunderstanding the situation and wondering if it was a guessing game. Eventually Rarity came back from checking behind the curtains, with a look of befuddlement.

"She's gone!" Rarity stated, still reeling from the revelation. Every-pony gasped in shock, and Yamano went onto high alert.

'Something is wrong.' Is the only thing that was running through her mind at this point. Her thoughts were interrupted by Pinkie Pies cry of terror, as a blue-ish mist was gathering where Celestia was supposed to be. With a sudden burst, the mist revealed a black and blue alicorn, with a nebulous mane and tail made of the same blue mist. Before Yamano had a chance to move, she started speaking.

"Oh, my beloved subjects! It's been so long sine I've seen your precious, little, SUN-loving faces." She said with both an aura of whimsicality and malice. Before the alicorn could continue, Rainbow Dash forcefully interjected with a shout.

"What did you do with our princess!?" She tried to fly full speed towards the intruder, but Applejack kept her back by holding onto the Pegasus's tail with her teeth.

"Woah there, nelly!" she exclaimed, muffled due to the grip.

The intruder chuckled to herself and answered in a mocking air. "Why? Am I not royal enough for you?" Her tone shifted to that of annoyance. "Don't you know who I am?" Pinkie tried to guess again, but Yamano dismissed her words. "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not SEE the signs?!"

Her monologue was cut off by Twilight Sparkle. "I did! And I know who you are. You're the mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon!" The hall echoed with another gasp. Nightmare Moon looked impressed.

"Well, well, well! Somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here." Twilight tried to respond, but her words got stuck in her throat. The recently released alicorn just laughed at her attempt. She was about to say something else, but Yamano was done. She conjured her scythe, jumped against the wall and used it to propel herself up to the impromptu stage that Nightmare Moon had claimed. Trying to use this moment of lax banter from the intruder, she brought her scythe down towards Nightmare Moons neck. As the blade reached the alicorn, she vanished into a puff of the same blue mist and reappeared a few steps away. Yamano glared at her.

"Coward." Her mind was furious. She wanted to say more, but that was the only word that came.

"Well, somepony with a backbone. I must admit, I wasn't expecting that. But you're a thousand years too early to be trying something like that with me." Nightmare Moon seemed to pay little heed towards Yamano after this point. She started laughing again, which ticked Yamano off even further. "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" With that, she started cackling maniacally, and causing a storm of mist to erupt from her mane. Yamano slammed her scythe into the ground and held fast.

'This is going to be troublesome' Yamano thought to herself.


	3. Chapter 2

**You know. I had a plan. I really did. But the more I thought about that plan, the less it made sense. As during the writing process of this chapter, I had set something up unintentionally. Which was a shock. But hey, I ran with it and now I have something to look forward to. Enjoy~! (Oh, I also don't know how to write short chapters without it being suuper awkward. So this one's a lil' long. Sorry :D)**

* * *

Chapter 2: Nightmare Moon

Yamano was bracing herself with her scythe against the nebulous storm that was Nightmare Moons power. Try as she might, she couldn't gain any ground, and the raised ground around her was starting to crumble from the levering force. The guardian started to formulate a plan, but her thoughts were cut short by the mayor yelling to the guards.

"Seize her! Only she knows where the princess is!" She said in a panic. At once, a squad of armed pegasi guards flew in from the sides. Nightmare Moon glared at them in disgust.

"Stand back, you foals!" Her eyes started to glow, and the storm of nebulous energy grew even more powerful, causing lightning to strike within the building and knock away the guards.

Yamano started to lose her nerve, as the platform she was standing on had started to crumble even further and started to list off down towards a cowering pegasus. She released her grip on her scythe, dropped down to the ground as fast as she could, and enveloped herself in a vibrant white light, originating from the opposite side of her horn as usual. As the platform collapsed, the rubble came bearing down upon Yamano like an adult dragon had just fallen onto her. The various stones and bricks making up the platform bounced off to the sides after colliding with the thin layer of light acting as a barrier. She turned her head to find the pegasus unharmed, although she couldn't tell if her eyes were skewed out of fright or if they were naturally that way.

"Derpy! You okay?! Come on, move!" Rainbow Dash had flown over and started dragging the unfamiliar pegasus off towards the door, before whirling back around to start pursuing Nightmare Moon again. The alicorn in question simply cackled, before bringing the powerful storm to herself, and vanished into it. The impatient, and rather angry, pegasus flew off at full speed to try and catch it, as the rest of the town hall was emptying.

Glancing about, Yamano tried to gather her bearings and find Twilight. After a few moments, she caught the unicorn staring with a look of shock towards where Nightmare Moon had vanished. She tried to grab Twilights attention by placing a hoof on her shoulder, before speaking with an air of urgency. "What now?" There was no response. "Twilight?" again nothing. She tried again, this time shaking the oblivious unicorn. "TWILIGHT?!" The third try seemed to snap her out of a stupor. Twilight looked back towards Yamano; whose face was contorted in a picture of rage.

"We need to find out where the Elements of Harmony are. NOW." Twilight spoke unsteadily, telling Yamano that this is the worst thing this pony has ever experienced.

"Then MOVE! We're wasting time just standing here!" Yamano snapped out, letting her anger get the better of her, before running out of the building. She was using her unnatural agility to its fullest, trying to get every possible perspective she could to make sure no-pony else was in danger. She eventually saw Rainbow Dash hovering nearby, who looked like the world was about to end. Yamano caught her gaze, and gestured her head towards the Golden Oak library, inviting her to join them. Rainbow nodded back and flew off to gather her friends. Yamano rolled her eyes, some of her anger finally leaving her. 'I hope I don't regret doing that.'

* * *

Yamano was feverishly searching the bookshelves for any hint on the elements. Twilight had gone into the other room to put her dragon friend to bed, so she wanted to get a head-start. After Twilight had re-entered, she started pulling multiple books off the shelves at a time, causing many of them to fly across the room, landing hard against the floor and walls.

"Elements, Elements, Elements, UGH. How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?!" Twilight was yelling at herself at this point. Yamano tried to go over to calm her down, but Rainbow Dash came flying right up into Twilights face before she had the chance.

"And just what ARE the 'Elements of Harmony'? And how did YOU know about Nightmare Moon, huh?! Are you a SPY?" Rainbow Dash was bombarding Twilight, not giving her a second to think. Yamano stepped up fiercely to Rainbow Dash's side, utilising her assassins malice to its full extent, warning the impertinent pegasus to back off. She quickly complied. Soon after, Applejack walked up.

"Simmer down, sally. She ain't no spy. But she sure knows what's goin' on, dontcha Twilight?" Applejack walked up to Twilight, the rest of her friends following closely behind. Twilight looked about the group, before hanging her head. She was about to speak, but Yamano was having none of it. She stood directly between Twilight and the five ponies accosting her.

"Everypony stay right where you are. I have no idea about you all, but from what I have seen, Twilight is going through a lot of stress. I'd dare say this is the most dangerous, fear inducing incident she has ever been a part of, so what right do you have to start demanding all this information from her?" Yamanos voice had darkened to a growl, causing everyone, even Twilight, to take a step back. Fluttershy bolted to the opposite side of the room, and Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie all looked at each other with a concerned look. Rarity, after having Yamanos scars revealed to her, understood the alicorns frustrations. She stepped up to talk.

"She didn't mean anything by it, dear. But I can assure you, this is just as stressful and scary for us. We simply want to know WHAT is so scary for us right now, you see." Rarity spoke with conviction. "We will apologize if we have caused any undue stress for Twilight, but right now, she is the only one who can settle our minds."

Yamano looked at Rarity while mulling over her words, before turning slightly to look at Twilight. She had a glint of determination in her eyes, as she was considering what she would say next. Yamano sighed and stepped out of the way. Twilight looked up to speak.

"I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her! But I don't know what they are, where to find them, I don't even know what they do!" Twilight was speaking hurriedly, obviously still scared out of her mind. Yamano was looking over the group but couldn't see Pinkie Pie anywhere. The brief silence that had fallen over the group was suddenly cut short by said pony, who had wandered over to a bookshelf.

"The Elements of Harmony: A Reference guide!" Twilight immediately rushed over, bumping Pinkie Pie out of the way.

"How did you find that?!" Twilight asked in awe as her protector moved to stand next to her. Pinkie Pie started bouncing past.

"It was under E~!" she said in a light-hearted tone. Yamanos anger vanished rapidly after this and gave a slight chuckle.

Twilight merely looked down a bit and said "Oh…" before pulling the book off the shelf with her magic. She opened it and started searching the book.

Yamano looked down at herself, and noticed she was still wearing the blue and red outfit Rarity had given her. She looked over to the fashionista, and to grab her attention, waved in front of her line of sight. "Could I get some help? I need to change." She started absent-mindedly fiddling with part of her clothing.

Rarity took a moment to grasp what she was asking. "Of course, darling." Both ponies headed to the back room, earning the attention of Rainbow Dash.

"And where are you two going?" Rainbow demanded, cutting in front of them both.

Yamano was about to forcibly remove the antagonistic pegasus, but Rarity put up a hoof. "It is a private matter, Rainbow Dash. One that you would not quite understand given the circumstances." Rarity spoke with dignity, before looking back to Yamano and smiling. The alicorn only nodded in agreement.

Rainbow Dash flew in place for a second, failing to glean why they would need to be alone, but eventually caved. "Alright then." She turned her attention to Yamano. "But if you do anything to hurt her, I swear-"

Yamano simply glared directly into Rainbow Dash's eyes, causing her to promptly stop talking. She tried in vain to hide her animosity. This caused Fluttershy to squeak in fear from somewhere to their right, causing Yamano to flinch in regret. Eventually she calmed herself and back towards Rainbow Dash, this time with a look of purpose. "Unless any of you do something to earn my wrath, you all shall remain unharmed. After all, it is my duty as a protector to guard my charge and her friends with my life."

The sudden shift caught Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy unawares. Rainbow Dash struggled to come up with something to say, before giving up and just waving indignantly. Fluttershy looked towards Applejack, looking for advice, but the orange pony merely shrugged back. Without saying another word, Yamano walked into the back room, followed by Rarity, who immediately set about undressing the struggling alicorn.

A few moments passed in silence as the unicorn calmly worked. A short while later, she spoke softly. "So, you are sure you wish to keep your heritage a secret, then? It might save a large amount of trouble in the future if you told them early."

"I understand, but if Twilight were to find out, she would cease treating me as a guardian, and instead she would see me as a royal. After all, the only other alicorns I know of right now are Celestia, and her lost sister." Yamano muttered wistfully.

Rarity stopped in her tracks at the guardians words. "Sister? I was unaware Princess Celestia had a sister." Yamano rolled her eyes.

"I was only told about her because my king is paranoid. He never believed she would be gone forever." Yamanos expression shifted at the mention of her king. "Our kingdom prides itself on its extensive and accurate collection of history. Even for kingdoms we have no ties to." She stopped to consider the situation they were in. "It's just… odd. The description I was given is remarkably close to how Nightmare Moon looks. It might just be a coincidence, but it seems too unlikely."

Her train of thought was cut short by Rarity, who was chuckling to herself. "You're sure it is your king who is the paranoid one?" She seemed unconcerned as she started neatly tidying away Yamanos outfit. Yamano sighed and started massaging one of her wings.

"Alright, maybe I'm paranoid too." She conjured her original black cloth and leather outfit over herself and summoned her scythe in preparation. Instead of carrying it around in her mouth like usual, she slotted it into a few small metal fixtures on the back of her clothing. She turned to Rarity, who had just finished storing her work. "let's go see if they found out where the elements are."

As the duo entered the main room of the library, the rest of the group had gathered around Twilight, who had settled on a page in the book. Glancing around, Rainbow Dash beckoned them both over to get a closer look. Rarity stood next to Twilight, while Yamano decided to take a position on the opposite side to Fluttershy. After everyone had gathered, Twilight began to read a passage out of the book.

"There are seven Elements of Harmony, but only six are known. Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Selflessness, the last being an augment to the rest. The seventh is a complete mystery, and it is said the last known location of the six elements is in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now…" Twilight paused at the last word. Everypony gathered in closer for a better look, before speaking in unison.

"The Everfree Forest?!"

* * *

The unlikely group had headed towards the foreboding forest mentioned within the book. One look at this place set most of the ponies on edge, except for Twilight and Yamano, the latter of which felt a strange familiarity with the way the place loomed. Without stopping, Yamano started to head towards the forest, followed by an excited Pinkie Pie.

"Whee! Let's go!" The crazy pony could hardly contain her happiness that they were going on an adventure. She was quickly cut off by Twilight.

"Not so fast." Pinkie Pie skidded to a halt, and Yamano looked back with a tired look on her face. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really prefer it to just be me and Yamano who do this." Twilight looked determinedly towards the forest, before Applejack chimed in.

"No can do, sugarcube. We sure ain't lettin' any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone." Twilight visibly cringed at the use of the word 'friend'. "We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple."

Pinkie Pie exclaimed in excitement. "Especially if there's candy apples in there." Twilight looked at her in with scepticism. "What? Those things are good!"

Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash all started to move ahead of the group, but they had their path interrupted by Yamano, who put up a hoof.

"If you're joining us, let me go first. I'm the most suited to handling a dangerous situation." Yamano looked back towards the trio. Fluttershy didn't seem too bothered by her presence for once, but Rainbow Dash looked annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! If anything happens I'LL be the one to protect everyone, just watch me!" The pegasus boasted. Yamano merely stared right into her eyes.

"And if you're the one who needs protecting? What then?" Yamano spoke as calmly as she could, attempting to hide her growing annoyance with the brash nature of the speedster.

The sudden question made Rainbow Dash hesitate, before speaking with as much certainty as she could muster. "Then I'd just get myself out of danger! Simple!" Yamano gazed towards the ground, her frustration building further. Within the blink of an eye, the guardian leaped back, using her agility to reach the shadows at the treeline. With a sneer, she seemingly vanished into the darkness. "Wh- where'd she go?" Rainbow looked concerned, and slightly terrified.

"Right here." Yamano had appeared right next to the frightened pegasus and whispered directly into her ear.

"WAOH!" Rainbow Dash yelled at full blast, causing Fluttershy to jump in terror, and the bigshot pegasus flew high into the sky in a reflex reaction. Yamano walked back towards the forest.

"See what I mean? You're just as terrified as the others. I'll take point, you follow. Agreed?" Yamano looked back expectantly at the now petrified pegasi. "AGREED?!"

Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash nodded their heads slowly. The tension was under-cut by a chuckle from Applejack. "Who'd have thought the way to get a point across to Rainbow would be scarin' the livin' daylights outta her."

* * *

They had been walking through the forest for a long time. Yamano was ahead, flitting between the shadows in the trees, keeping an eye out for danger, while everypony else was huddled together in a loose group, looking about feverishly. The silence was only broken by the wind pushing past the unsteady branches of the wild trees. Eventually, nerves got the better of Twilight, who was the first to speak.

"So… none of you have been in here before?" She whispered cautiously.

"Oh, heavens no! Just look at it! It's dreadful!..." Rarity squealed back. Applejack nodded her head.

"And it ain't natural. Folks say it don't work the same as Equestria." She muttered worriedly. Twilight looked terrified.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She was cut off abruptly by Rainbow Dash, who had bounced back well from the scare Yamano had given her.

"No pony knows!" The cyan pegasus spoke in a wispy voice, while hovering out of the darkness of a nearby tree, heading directly towards the group. She touched down onto the ground, and started stalking towards Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who all looked creeped out. "You know why?"

"Rainbow! Quit it!" Applejack spoke in a greatly annoyed tone.

"please, stop." Yamano spoke under her breath.

"Cause every pony who's ever come in…" She paused for effect. "Has never… come… OUT!" she yelled out the last word, causing the three ponies to jump up in fright. Before anything else could happen, the ground underneath them crumbled and fell away, causing all seven to yell in surprise. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy managed to catch themselves before they started falling and started hovering in the air. "Fluttershy, quick!" Rainbow Dash flew off towards their plummeting friends.

"Oh, my goodness, oh my goodness!" The timid pegasus flew forward to keep up.

The five of them were sliding down a hill towards a cliff edge. Rainbow Dash managed to catch Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy caught Rarity and helped her slow her descent. Applejack gripped a nearby tree root with her teeth, leaving Yamano and Twilight still slipping. Yamano grasped her scythe, slamming it into the hill, skidding to a stop, but Twilight continued falling. She managed to stop herself hanging half over the cliff edge, barely managing to hold on. Glancing at each other, Yamano and Applejack both let themselves continue down towards the precipice.

"Hold on! I'ma comin'!" Applejack tried to call out as calmly as she could.

Yamano followed her up. "Try not to move! You'll only loosen your grip!" As both ponies started getting closer to the struggling unicorn, Yamano struck the ground with her scythe again to act as a grip for both to hold on to. Applejack held onto Twilights hooves as tight as she could, using one of her back legs to wrap around the back of the exposed portion of the blade to steady herself.

"Applejack! What do I do?!" Twilight asked desperately. Applejack and Yamano stayed quiet, for they couldn't think of anything. After a while, something caught Applejacks eye, and gave her an idea. She looked directly at Twilight, and calmly spoke.

"Let go."

Simultaneously, Yamano and Twilight spoke in shock and annoyance. "Are you crazy?!"

"No, I ain't. I promise you'll be safe." Applejack responded with a pleading look. Twilights eyes shrank.

"THAT'S not true!" Twilight was getting more and more desperate.

"Now you listen here. What I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, an' you'll be safe." Applejack had a concerned look on her face. Yamano was having none of it.

"And I thought I was the insane one!" She grabbed Twilights left hoof and started trying to pull her up, to little avail. "Are you gonna help me?!" The ground underneath her started to shift, and she almost careened off the edge right then and there.

"Quit it! Just quit it! She'll be fine! It'd make things worse for us if both o' y'all end up like this!" Applejack looked harshly towards Yamano, who froze in place. After a while, she spoke.

"This had better work." She adjusted her grip back onto her scythe, before finally seeing what Applejack had so much faith in. before she could process the new information, Twilight closed her eyes and dropped off the edge of the cliff. She started screaming all the way down, before being stopped in her tracks by both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who were now carrying her in mid-air. She sighed in relief, before suddenly lurching downwards as the grip of the pegasi wasn't too great.

"Sorry girls, I'm not used to holding anything more than a bunny or two…" She apologised timidly.

Yamano was looking down at the scene, when Applejack started to scale down the cliff using a few outcroppings of rock to stop herself rom falling. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were already down there as well. 'Thank goodness. Well played, Applejack.' She thought to herself, relieved that nothing worse happened. She dismissed her scythe and conjured up a set of metal claws that fitted over her hooves. She started climbing down the cliff, driving the claws into the rock and managing to find purchase, so she had no chance of falling straight down. When reaching the base of the cliff, the group aside from Yamano gathered together and started heading towards the rest of the forest. The alicorn however was keeping an eye on the surroundings again, before spotting a familiar looking mist of nebulous energy, which flew off in the direction they were about to head. 'Nightmare Moon was the one who destroyed the platform… Figures.' She decided that keeping the claws out right now would be more beneficial, as the forest wasn't a good place for a scythe.

* * *

As the group continued forward, Rainbow Dash was bragging and retelling her perspective on the cliff fall, much to the annoyance of Twilight. Applejack decided to catch up to Yamano, for a question was on her mind and it wouldn't leave. "So, Yamano. What'd ya mean when ya said you thought you were the insane one?" Applejack asked, treading carefully to not sound offensive. Yamano merely shook her head in resignation.

"There is a myriad of reasons I say so. I won't give you all the details, but my mind isn't exactly… stable anymore. If you really, REALLY want to know some details as to why, I'll give you some of them. But I'd rather not." Yamano spoke in a rush, firing off the answer almost as quickly as Pinkie Pie would have. She sighed, and side-eyed Applejack who was thinking to herself.

"I'd be lyin' if I said I wasn't interested. But only if it ain't too hard for ya." She spoke a little quietly, hoping she wasn't overstepping. Yamano sighed, and gave a look that said, 'you asked for it'.

"Then I'll tell you." She spoke bluntly, then spent a few more paces thinking on what to say that wouldn't reveal everything. She was trying to piece together an answer but threw away that idea and just went with something basic, but true. She spoke with purpose. "…Torture."

Immediately, Applejack gave a look of shock directly towards Yamano. She opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. Yamano shrugged. "Two years of it, to be exact. Every day." She sighed at the prospect. "Every day it got progressively worse. Seven hundred and twenty-four, give or take a few dozen, straight days of torture. And I can remember every second of it." She decided telling the world that she was an assassin would complicate things even further, so she didn't mention anything before her prison sentence. Eventually she looked back towards Applejack to see what she made of her confession.

Applejack spent a long time thinking after that. Every now and then, she looked to be about to start talking, but quickly stopped herself and continued thinking. This went on for ten minutes, before she finally figured out something to say. "Ah can't even begin to imagine what that's like. Two years, ya said?"

"Yeah…" Yamanos voice trailed off as a singular image appeared in her mind. A ghastly looking sceptre, with a pulsing dark sapphire, set in bones. Her self-suppressed memories of the pain this cursed object caused bubbling up to the forefront, causing her to falter in her movement. She instinctually grasped at her concealed scar on her left leg with her metal claw gauntlet and tried to shake the feelings out of her head. Her eyes were held tightly shut, almost as if she was re living some of the pain itself.

Realising Yamanos discomfort, Applejack put a hoof on one of her shoulders. This seemed to snap the ailing alicorn out of her delusion. She spoke quietly. "I'm sorry if I made ya remember somethin' bad. That wasn't my intention." Yamano waved a hoof in dismissal.

"It's not your fault. It would have happened on its own eventually anyway." She muttered through a long sigh. She picked up her pace a little, as she wanted to be alone. "I'll check ahe-"

Her words were abruptly cut short by a loud crashing sound coming from a distance in front of them. She whipped her head around fast, to see a looming shadow of a creature. Everypony present stopped in their tracks as it stepped into the light. It had the head of a lion, wings of a bat and tail of a scorpion. Twilight immediately recognised it and yelled out to the group. "It's a manticore!" As she finished, the manticore roared at the group. "We've gotta get past him!" As soon as she was done talking, the manticore lurched forwards towards the group, bringing its paw down to attempt to strike Rarity, who ducked out of the way and countered with a kick.

"Take that, you ruffian!" She yelled out in pride. But the manticore seemed unfazed and roared directly into Raritys face.

"Don't antagonize the thing! It'll only make things worse!" Yamano called out to the now panicking unicorn. She rushed in front of the manticore, who was starting to pursue Rarity, and glared with all the malice she could muster directed directly towards the manticore. This caused the beast to hesitate in its step, giving Applejack a chance to jump onto its back.

"Yeehaw! Git along, little dogie!" Applejack seemed to be enjoying herself as she rode on the manticores back.

Fluttershy meekly called out to the group to stop, but no-pony was listening.

Eventually, the manticore managed to shake off the orange pony, causing her to go careening off towards Rainbow Dash. "All yours, partner!" She spoke with a hint of glee as she fell back towards the earth. The blue pegasus saluted back, and flew off towards the manticore full speed, causing Fluttershy to remain ignored. She flew literal circles around the beast, trying to disorient it. It didn't work. The manticore merely batted Rainbow Dash away with its tail. This enraged Twilight and Applejack but made Yamano sigh in frustration. Everyone except Yamano and Fluttershy started a full-on charge towards their adversary. Eventually, Fluttershy was fed up, and cut in front of the group before yelling for them to stop. She looked back towards the manticore, while Yamano was keeping a close eye.

"Shh, it's okay…" Fluttershy started to slowly move up towards the manticore, who looked confused, but simultaneously threatened. What Fluttershy didn't see was that the beast in question didn't want her coming any closer. It pulled back its tail and attempted to lash out at the pegasus. Fluttershy saw the tail coming, but she was too scared to move. She reflexively closed her eyes tight, bracing for the sting.

But it never came. When she opened them again, she found Yamano standing in front of her, a pained look across her face. The guardian had used herself as a shield for Fluttershy, and the stinger was buried deep into her side.

"You- ow- you okay Fluttershy?!" One of Yamanos eyes were closed in pain as she looked back towards the timid pegasus. The look on her face was grim, and it seemed like she was only just keeping her wits together.

Fluttershy nodded and spoke in a scared whisper. "Are, uhm, are you okay?" She didn't get an answer, and instead saw that Yamanos façade of calmness started to crumble.

Yamano was furious. She turned her attention away from Fluttershy, and back to the manticore. She funnelled all her ferocity and rage into a single, bone chilling stare, eyes shifting from her normal blue to a grim yellow, that caused the manticore to stumble back in fear. She had lost herself and was trying everything in her power to stop herself from killing the beast right then and there. It wasn't until Fluttershy had cut in front of her to soothe the beast when she finally got the stinger out of her side, allowing some of her animosity towards the creature to subside. Eventually, her eyes shifted back, her brief moment of fury seemingly gone.

Fluttershy walked up to the manticore and nuzzled its paw with a look of expectedness on her face. The manticore looked exceedingly confused at this point and revealed its paw to the pegasus. The was a huge thorn embedded directly into the centre. Fluttershy looked at it sadly. "Oh, you poor, poor little baby…" She said quietly.

Everyone in the vicinity looked exceedingly confused. Yamano and Rainbow Dash Both exclaimed simultaneously.

"Little?"

Yamano walked up slowly to the manticore, making sure not to make eye contact to not spook the injured creature. She walked up next to Fluttershy and briefly gestured with a hoof, accentuating her claw-gauntlets. "Allow me." She said in a hushed voice, barely loud enough for the pegasus to hear. She hooked a claw onto part of the thorn with one hoof, and held the manticores paw steady with the other, making sure not to apply any pressure. The thorn was removed with remarkable ease, as the manticore didn't even flinch as it was removed painlessly. In a flash, the manticore had picked them both up, as it roared in happiness. The remainder of the group mistook this as an angry roar and yelled in shock.

Fluttershy was chuckling to herself as the manticore purred away, happily licking at her mane. Yamano was uncomfortable but tried not to do anything that would be considered threatening. Fluttershy was very happy as well, as she started talking to the manticore. "Awh, you're just a little old baby kitty aren't you? Yes, you are." She cooed lovingly. Yamano slowly gestured to the rest of the group, beckoning them to move forwards. When everyone was safely past, Fluttershy petted the manticore one last time, and hopped down from the manticores paw. Yamano followed suit but hit the ground hard. She was finding it hard to apply her weight onto her right side as she confidently limped towards her charge. Her head was foggy, but she continued as best she could. Twilight failed to notice and moved her attention over to Fluttershy.

"How did you know about the thorn?" Twilight asked in confusion. Fluttershy confidently closed her eyes as she continued walking.

"I didn't. sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness." Twilight looked at the pegasus briefly, and then looked slightly towards the floor as she thought about those words. Eventually her face settled into one of relief and happiness.

* * *

Yamano, being as paranoid as ever, turned her head to look at the manticore. It had started moving off on its own way, but she just wanted to make sure. She saw the thorn that had been removed vanish into a familiar blue nebulous smoke, which floated away. She sighed to herself. '_If it really is the lost princess, she obviously has it out for us… but _why_?_' Similar thoughts, along with a myriad of strategies, stayed flitting through her mind for the next short while as everyone was continuing onwards.

When she turned her head to look forwards, a sudden wave of dizziness overtook her, causing her to collapse onto her side. A burning sensation that she hadn't noticed from the adrenaline still coursing through her had made itself known in full force, and it pulsed greater and greater pain from the still bleeding wound on her side. Her head was starting to fog up again, and she found it hard to think as she tried to stand again, only to fall back down.

Everyone present noticed Yamano falling over and grew more and more concerned as she started exclaiming in pain. It took a second for everyone to remember what had happened before the situation with the manticore was resolved, and everyone started to panic. Fluttershy was showing the worst of it, as a realization made her cover her mouth. Applejack was the first to make it to Yamanos side. "You okay? Where's it hurt?" She asked hurriedly. Yamano merely writhed in agony, holding onto the wound caused by the stinger. "Dang it all. Fluttershy, you know about animals, right? What's up with that tail of the manticores?" Fluttershy started stuttering, trying to get the words out.

Eventually, Fluttershy managed to spit the words out through a scared and strained whisper. "It's venomous." The whole group, minus Yamano, gasped in surprise and terror. She started thinking about how Yamano was struck by the tail in the first place, and started breaking down, realizing that it was her who could have been stung, but instead it was Yamano. "I'm sorry! Its my fault!" Fluttershy looked as if she was about to start crying.

* * *

Yamano heard something through the intense sound of her own heartbeat. It was Fluttershy, apologising. She couldn't figure out why. Everything around her was blurry, and she was in a complete daze. But she still heard the pegasus. She altered her breathing, trying to calm her body down. After a while, her grunts of pain had ceased, and a little of her clarity had restored itself. She looked about, and saw Applejack next to her, checking her wound, while Fluttershy was surrounded by a shocked looking Twilight and Pinkie. Fluttershy seemed to be crying to herself, and Rainbow Dash looked completely stunned.

Fighting through the intense burning feeling, she stood up weakly and started heading towards Fluttershy. She only made it about half way before collapsing again though, as all strength had vanished from her legs. She tried to call out, but her voice failed her. She tried again. And again. Over and over, trying to say something, anything. Until suddenly, a thought had occurred. A way to make this situation significantly easier for the injured alicorn. She looked at her hooves, and saw she still had her claw-gauntlets. She focused as much as she could, funnelling some of her dark magic into the gauntlets. With a sickening slice, the gauntlets fully embedded themselves into her hooves. She found that she was now able to manipulate the claws on the gauntlets to full effect, as if they were a new extension of herself. With little hesitation, she brought her right hoof across to her left leg, and slashed hard. In an instant, the new pain replaced the burning sensation as her mind focused all the pain onto that specific area. This allowed her to think and act again, if only for a while. Drawing a deep breath, she yelled.

"FLUTTERSHY!"

Everyone froze, even Fluttershy, who quickly started to apologize again. Yamano growled. "Fluttershy, shut up and listen to me! That goes for the rest of you too! Don't blame yourselves, I'm the one who threw myself in front of a raging manticore." She spoke harshly, but without anger. She was as calm then as she had ever been in her life. "I need you all to pay very close attention, assuming you wish for my continued survival."

After a moment, everyone nodded. "Good. Okay. Fluttershy, I know you must be good with natural remedies, so anything you can do to slow the venom would be wonderful." Fluttershy nodded and stared with tear filled eyes, as she looked about to gather herbs. "Rarity, Rainbow Dash, I need you two to look for something." Rarity was puzzled, but Rainbow Dash nodded with determination. "It is a flower, with petals of red and white and a blue stem and leaves. One is enough, but two would be ideal." Rainbow immediately grabbed rarity and started flying off. "Applejack, I need you to make a controlled fire. If anyone is good at survival it'd be you."

"I'm on it." Applejack said with a shaky voice.

"Twilight, you help." Twilight froze in place. Yamano shook her head, which was a bad idea as the burning sensation slowly started creeping up towards her neck. She clutched down onto her left leg even harder, digging the claw-gauntlet into her leg even further. "Pinkie, you're impossible, so you probably have a container or SOMETHING with you, right?" Pinkie, who looked torn between three different emotions right now, conjured up a small metal container, probably a cake tin, from… somewhere that Yamano couldn't see. Maybe her hair? Questions for later. "Go to the nearby river and fill it with water, then bring it to Applejack." Pinkie bounced off faster than usual, which was a sight to behold. The injured alicorn turned her attention back to Twilight. "WELL?! MOVE!" Twilight hurriedly scurried off to help Applejack, looking back with worry.

The guardian felt something on her right, as Fluttershy had arrived back with various herbs that she was applying to the wound. It soothed the pain and caused the creeping sensation of fire to slow down significantly but did not stop it entirely. She felt a hoof on her back, as Fluttershy started habitually rubbing it to try and assure her that it was fine. She would usually rebuff a gesture like that, but it was honestly helping to calm her.

When she looked up at Fluttershy, she saw that the pegasus was fighting back tears, seemingly like she would break down any second. "Fluttershy, listen to me." The Pegasus looked at Yamano in surprise. "Don't blame yourself for this. I know how a mind such as yours works in a situation like this. It isn't your fault." Her words were hushed, and she was trying to speak without showing any of her pain, which was difficult. Fluttershy looked like she was about to cry even harder, as Yamano reached up with a clawed hoof and brushed a few twigs out of the terrified pegasus' mane. "I sent Dash and Rarity out for a reason. They're currently looking for something. Something that my parents taught me about."

Fluttershy nodded quickly, not sure what else she could do. She started talking through sobs. "If I – I had just, paid attention then this- this wouldn't have hap-ppened."

Yamano weakly shook her head. "The fault is mine. If I had used a light barrier I wouldn't have been injured in the first place. I fully expected the manticore to just let you approach the first time, so I was careless." Fluttershy looked to be about to respond, but Yamano merely placed a claw over the worried pegasus' mouth. "Don't argue with me on this one. I'll win." She smiled wryly, before the pain of the venom started settling in again.

She looked up, and saw that Rainbow Dash and Rarity had arrived, holding one of the flowers she had mentioned. Through pained breaths, she spoke rapidly. "Take that flower to the others. have them grind it up and boil it." Rainbow Dash grabbed the flower from Rarity and flew it off as fast as she could, as Rarity moved up to Fluttershys' side. She sat a few steps back, unsure how she could help. Yamano was about to say something, but the pain pulsed back in full force, causing her body to contort. Fluttershy quickly replaced the herbs with fresh ones, as it slowly started dying down again. "How much practice have you had at this, Fluttershy?" She said with a forcefully added ounce of silliness to try and ease the tension.

"More than I care to admit…" Fluttershy spoke back, seemingly calmer now. She was so focused on tending to the wound that it didn't even register who it was she was helping. All semblance of fear she held towards the once dangerous presence had been replaced with frightened determination and worry. As she traced the veins leading to and from the wound, she noticed that they had all started turning black from where the venom was situated. This didn't go unnoticed by Rarity either, who was trying her best to stay calm, but was obviously worried, as her eye occasionally twitched violently.

The worried voice of Applejack rang out over the trio. "It's done!" Twilight was using her magic to carry the burning hot cake tin over towards Yamano. Inside, there was a dark pink, and rather thick, substance swirling about.

With little regard for her safety, Yamano grabbed the tin out of the air, which caused her gauntlets to start rapidly heating up, and started drinking. At once, the black veins on her neck and around the wound started vanishing as the liquid entered her body. The tainted blood that was slowly oozing out of the wound had started to clear up as well, for the substance was neutralizing the venom. Once she was done, she held the now cool tin out towards Pinkie Pie, who accepted it and stashed it away. Taking a clear, deep breath, she looked towards the group. "Thank you." She struggled to stand, as the venom had left a lasting effect, robbing her of her strength, along with the fresh gashes on her left leg causing her to shift her balance to the right side.

Almost at once, everyone present started to talk over each other. Apparently the experience was far more harrowing for them than it was for Yamano. She shook her head, unable to pick out each voice from the other. She raised a hoof before speaking. "Girls, I'm fine. That flower acts as a powerful antivenom when prepared like that." Everyone seemed to settle down as she spoke. Applejack spoke again, her face now looking puzzled.

"How'd ya know about that flower anyways? I ain't ever seen it before." She asked slowly. Yamano looked to be about to answer, but her face fell into a look of sad nostalgia. It was made obvious how painful this was for her as her claws clasped the ground tightly. "I'm sorry, sugarcube. Didn't mean ta-" She was cut off by Yamano, who put up a hoof.

"Don't worry about it. The flower was named 'Chorynthian' and it was originally bred by my parents. They are-" She caught herself and sighed. "_Were_ botanical scientists. They taught me about it before… well, I'm sure you get the idea." She shook her head, trying to think of something else, before turning to continue down the path they were following. "What does it matter? Can we just carry on?" She muttered coldly. She started limping down the path, before landing badly on her left and almost falling over, cursing under her breath. The rest of the group looked at her in bewilderment, before starting to follow.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, before speaking out of earshot of Yamano. "Is she a super soldier or what?"

* * *

Tensions were high as the group tentatively made their way through the wild forest. Yamano had ended up being overtaken by Rainbow Dash, who seemed on higher alert than usual. Every now and then, she would feel another pulse of pain as her wounds from earlier hadn't closed despite the venom being neutralized. She Ignored it as best she could to not worry everyone else, but it made fast movement difficult. This annoyed her to no end, as her training demanded her to use the entirety of a given environment. Being confined to just walking never sat well with her. She glanced across to the faces of her current companions and found a consistent look of fear on each of them. Except Pinkie Pie. She couldn't quite tell what the crazy earth pony's face was trying to do as they bounced along at her own pace. The guardian shook her head, which caused her to go temporarily dizzy, before her thoughts were cut off by an indignant Rarity.

"Ohh… my eyes need a rest from all this icky muck." Almost as if the forest was listening, the canopy of trees over head grew tighter, cutting off the dim light of the moon, plunging the group into total darkness. Looking about in frustration, Rarity muttered to herself. "Well I didn't mean that literally."

Yamano lightly tapped Raritys shoulder, causing her to jump slightly, before speaking. "Be careful what you wish for. Places like this tend to grant them at the worst of times." She spoke quietly, to not draw too much attention from any wildlife in the area. After the manticore, she was determined not to run into anything else. "At least I thrive in this environment." Rarity looked over at Yamano, as there was just enough light to see something two feet in front of you. She saw the guardians eyes flitting about the place, picking out details that everyone else present couldn't even begin to see a silhouette of. She was about to say something else but was cut off by Twilight.

"That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn't even know it!" She spoke quickly, almost tripping through her own words. As if to prove a point, many of the group started tripping over each other, apologizing between themselves. Everyone froze at a loud squelching sound. Yamano looked over at Applejack, who was looking down towards the ground.

"Oh wait, I think ah stepped in somethin'." She sounded disappointed, but relieved. Yamano looked back to the way they were going and stopped dead in her tracks as she stared. Fluttershy followed Yamanos gaze, before screaming incredibly loudly. Applejack, not realising what had set this off, merely shrugged and continued walking, with her head turned back towards the terrified pegasus. "It's just mud." When she turned back around, there was a tree right in front of her. As she looked up, she jumped back and yelled in surprise when she saw the tree seemed to have a mouth with jagged looking teeth and glaring eyes. The branches whipped around and gnarled together almost as if they were reaching out towards the group. Every direction they looked, there was another two or three of these trees. They were surrounded.

Everyone in the group except Yamano and Pinkie started screaming. Yamano was glancing about rapidly, trying to keep an eye on their movements while looking for a possible way out, while Pinkie Pie was… laughing? She was laughing. At the trees. Yamanos eyes widened as the crazy pink pony started making funny faces at one, before breaking down laughing again. Simultaneously, Twilight and Yamano asked in shock. "Pinkie, what are you doing?! RUN!"

Pinkie merely smiled and looked back, before lightly bouncing in place. Instruments started sounding throughout the forest, creating an uplifting tune. Which baffled Yamano to no end, as nopony else seemed to react to it. Pinkie spoke back with a cheerful tone. "Oh, girls. Don't you see?" Yamano realised immediately what was about to happen.

"Oh no…" She said in a frustrated tone. "Nope. That's it. I can put up with a lot but leave me outta this." She took off as fast as her injured body would let her, but the trees had encircled them entirely, leaving her no escape route. "Now what?!"

Yamanos worst fears were realised when Pinkie started to sing.

:

[pinkie] When I was a little filly, and the sun was going do~wn.

[twilight] _Tell me she's not._

[pinkie] The darkness, and the shadows, they would always make me fro~wn.

[rarity] _She is._

[yamano] _BUT WHY~?_

[pinkie] I'd hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw. But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all~.

[dash] Then what is-.

[pinkie] She said Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall, learn to face your fears! You'll see they can't hurt you, just laugh to make them disappear! Ha, Ha, Ha!

_The scariness of the tree in front of her vanished immediately, leaving a boring, plain Everfree tree._

[T, F, R, A, RD] _*gasp*_

[yamano] _NO! NOT HAPPENING._

[pinkie] So~ giggle at the ghostly, guffaw at grossly, crack up at the creepy, whoop it up with the weepy, chortle at the kooky, snortle at the spooky. And tell that bid dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and-if-he-thinks-he-can-scare-you-then-he's-got-another-thing-coming-and-the very-idea-of-such-a-thing-just-makes-you-wanna hahaha! *squeak* LAUGH~!

_One by one the trees returned to normal, leaving everyone present giggling to themselves on the floor. All except Yamano. Yamano doesn't like to laugh._

:

* * *

Yamano stood with a look of livid furiousness plastered onto her face. She waited for a good thirty seconds before finally giving up and walking off on her own. 'better to be alone than snap at my charge and her apparent friends.' She mused to herself, absently trying in vain to remove the gauntlets that were now fused into her hooves. Seemed they'd be here to stay.

She saw one of the trees off to her side was still the same warped appearance as the others were before Pinkies… outburst. She almost considered, just for a second, to test out Pinkies idea. Then she thought the better of it and slammed the tree with her hoof. The hideous façade on the tree vanished in a puff of nebulous energy. "This again? That does it, come out and face me already." Yamano yelled fiercely. The energy hesitated in the air for a second, before coalescing towards the ground. A familiar form of an alicorn came together from the energy, and it stepped forwards, revealing Nightmare Moon. She looked annoyed but was keeping her composure. She looked to be about to start monologuing again, but Yamano cut her off first. "So, _Luna_, what brings you to this part of the forest."

Her question caught the lost princess off guard. She spent a long time thinking before answering. "How did YOU know who I used to be? Not that it matters, but you have made me… curious. It is obvious you are not from Equestria. No Equestrian ponies have EVER been trained in your manner of… combat."

Yamano smirked at the question. "You're right. I'm not from Equestria. I come from a relatively small kingdom far to the east of here. Maybe you have heard of it?" Nightmare Moon seemed unconcerned with her presence but started considering what kingdom it could be. Yamano shook her head. "here's a hint. It's ruled by the greatest tyrant known to pony kind, who personally trained an assassin who earned the name 'Reaper'. Ring any bells?" Yamano stood impatiently, tapping her claws on the ground.

Nightmare Moon spent a long time considering, before a look of realization crept up onto her usually sneering and taunting face. She looked quickly towards Yamano, before taking an instinctual step backwards. "YOU? YOU are the Reaper Assassin?" The dark alicorn spoke with an ever so slight waver in her voice.

"Archades prides itself on history. But honestly I'm surprised that the rumour even managed to spread to the moon." Yamano took a menacing step forwards. "I don't want to kill you. But I won't let you hurt anypony else. And if that's what it'd take then so be it." her voice was cold, devoid of emotion. Her eyes were empty, yet they bored deep into Nightmare Moons soul. She seemed paralyzed with the realisation but looked defiantly back towards the assassin. Her gaze brought her further and further into the dark alicorns soul, her mind relentlessly searching for something to use against her. She had almost found something, before seeing what looked like… a filly. Or somepony not much older, scared and shivering within the deepest depths of this depraved tyrants soul. She snapped back to reality, realising she let her dark magic get the best of her, and that Luna was still in there, alone. She looked away from Nightmare Moon sadly and scowled. She started walking back towards where she left the group, and sighed to herself, before looking back and speaking at the confused alicorn.

"I will save you."

* * *

Little to the groups knowledge, Fluttershy had also left them to follow the one who saved her from the manticore. She hid in a bush and was spying on Yamano during her conversation with the one who threatened to bathe Equestria in the night forever. She gasped at the mention of the guardian being an assassin and struggled with the knowledge for a long time. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear Yamano walk up to her, giving her a confused look, before realizing that the timid pegasus was within earshot of her previous conversation.

"I take it you heard all that." Yamano spoke with a sigh, before stopping a few paces in front of the spy. She was still favoring her right side as she walked, as the injuries on her left foreleg still hadn't fully closed.

Fluttershy looked like a train was headed toward her at full speed and had frozen in place. Yamano closed her eyes and looked down and shrugged towards the terrified mare. Fluttershy looked to be hyperventilating and her eyes were darting about, looking for some help. Yamano looked at the panicking pegasus and couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle. She walked up to Fluttershy and placed her hoof onto the side of her head, before running her claws through the mares mane. This seemed to calm her down for now, but she still looked afraid and confused. Yamano closed her eyes again and sighed.

"Everything you heard was the truth." She spoke softly, but the look on her face was serious. "But I have made a vow not to take another life." She tried to give a small smile, attempting to calm the mare, and herself, down further. "Will you trust me for at least a little while longer?"

Fluttershy just stared at Yamano for a few seconds, before nodding with a timid "mhm" in agreement. As she looked at the assassin turned guardian, her aura went from that of malice, to one of a soothing calmness. The fear that she had felt from her mere presence seemed to dissipate with the promise of trust.

"Let's go back. The others are probably wondering where we've gone. Stay close, just in case." Yamano started re-tracing her steps from when she left in the first place, while Fluttershy kept a close pace next to her left side.

They walked in silence for a while, before Fluttershy spoke her mind. "I'm, uhm, I'm sorry about when we first met…" She muttered meekly, making it more difficult than it had to be for Yamano to hear. She merely shook her head and looked at Fluttershy with an eyebrow raised.

"Don't worry about it. Honestly, at the time I would have been more insulted if you hadn't responded how you did." She joked with a chuckle. For the first time since, well, ever, she felt safe around another pony. She was going to make sure that continued.

* * *

Yamano and Fluttershy started quietly heading back towards the group, who were still recovering from the laughing fit they had fallen into after Pinkie Pies song. It seemed none of them realized Fluttershy was missing, so they were surprised when the duo pushed past some low hanging branches. Yamano held the last of the branches out of Fluttershys way as she re-joined her friends. Twilight raised an eyebrow through the remnants of laughter as Yamano stood a few paces off, not wanting to spoil the moment. As they all started to settle, Yamano motioned a hoof in the direction they were headed next, with a look that merely said, 'shall we?'.

The group were continuing to chuckle between themselves as they continued, when Yamano stopped at the bank of a river. She almost got thrown into it by her companions as they weren't paying attention, walking directly into her as she stopped. As the group all peeked out from behind the guardian, they saw that the river was turbulent, and impossible to cross by normal means. Pinkie was the first to speak.

"How are we gonna cross this?!" Pinkie asked, seemingly unfazed by the situation going by the tone in her voice. Yamano shrugged.

"Maybe I could build something to ford the river…" She sighed distantly, as her gaze shifted to the various trees on their side of the river. She had started planning out a bridge in her head, but her thoughts were cut short by a loud wailing sound and crying that came from further downstream. The group meandered cautiously towards the sound, which was revealed to be a sea serpent crying and thrashing about in the river, causing the turbulence. The sea serpent seemed oblivious to their presence for the moment as it continued to cry out.

"What a world. What a world!" The sea serpent continued to wail to itself, before slamming both of its clawed fists into the water. The group shared sceptical looks before Twilight spoke up.

"Excuse me, sir? Why are you crying?" She asked boldly as the rest of the group just stared in confusion. The sea dragon rose to its full height before responding indignantly.

"Well, I don't know, I was just sitting here, minding my own business when this TACKY little cloud of purple smoke just ah, WHISKED past me and tore half of my, _beloved_ moustache clean off!" He responded in a barrage of words, not giving himself much chance for a breath. "And now, I look simply HORRID!" he declared before dramatically falling over into the river, drenching the group in its entirety, causing all their manes to fall over their faces. Rainbow Dash and Yamano muttered under their breaths.

"Oh, gimme a break." Rainbow whispered annoyedly.

"Tell me about it." Yamano seethed as she squeezed some of the water out of her mane and clothes. Applejack took a few steps forwards to speak.

"THAT'S what's all the fuss is about?" Applejack asked, not quite believing the story. Rarity cut in front of all of them, a look of horror across her face.

"Why of COURSE it is!" she started strutting in front of the group. "How CAN you be so insensitive?" She started walking up to the dejected sea dragon, before stroking its chin as it rested on the bank of the river. "Aw just look at him. Such lovely luminescent scales." The sea dragon sniffed.

"I know…" it sighed sadly.

"And your expertly coiffed mane."

"I know, I KNOW!" The sea dragon sat up as it ran a claw through its mane. Yamano looked unimpressed.

"Your fabulous manicure." Rarity added with a smile.

The sea dragon gasped, before speaking again. "It's so true!"

Rarity's gaze dropped as she spoke again. "All ruined without your beautiful moustache."

This sent the sea dragon into a sad fit. "It's true, I'm hideous!"

Rarity squinted her eyes with determination. "I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!" She looked back towards her companions, before resting her intense gaze on Yamano. "You, over here! I will need your assistance with this!"

The guardian looked quizzically at the marshmallow pony, before shrugging and walking up to her. "What is it?" She said coldly.

"Summon your scythe, if you'd please. I need it for something important." Rarity demanded.

Yamano scowled. "It's not summoning, its conjuration!" Rarity simply raised an eyebrow at her, causing the guardian to sigh. "Oh whatever. Fine." She pulsed dark energy into the left half of her horn and gestured in front of herself. The dark energy took the shape of her scythe, and it appeared in front of her. She grabbed the handle with her teeth before giving Rarity an impatient stare. Rarity leaned in to whisper something into her ear, which caused Yamano to look skeptically at the fashionista. She then shrugged, and moved to stand behind Rarity, before slicing off the marshmallow pony's tail with a quick flick of her head.

The rest of the group gawked at Yamano's actions, concerned that she had lost her mind, before realising that the marshmallow pony simply nodded in approval. Rarity immediately got to work using the part of her tail that she had asked Yamano to cut to mend the sea dragons moustache. The sea dragon looked delighted. "My moustache! How WONDERFUL!"

Rarity smiled at the sea dragon. "You look smashing."

Twilight walked up to Rarity as she was concerned over the whole notion. "Oh Rarity, your beautiful tail!" Twilight shifted her eyes towards Yamano. "What were you thinking?! You could have hurt her." Yamano chuckled emptily.

"I didn't spend most of my life training with this bloody thing-" As she spoke, she placed the scythe onto the ground. "-To mess up bad enough to unintentionally injure somepony." She gestured towards Rarity. "Besides, it was at her request."

Rarity smiled at the group. "It's fine, my dears. Short tails are in this season." She looked back worriedly at her now much shorter tail. "Besides, it'll grow back…"

"So would the moustache." Rainbow added quietly. Twilight chuckled at her comment, whereas Yamano tussled the rainbow pony's mane, causing it to poke out in a myriad of directions. Rainbow batted the guardians hoof away. Twilight shifted her attention away from the group, and gasped at the sight of the river, as it was now calm.

"We can cross now!" she called out to the group. "Let's go!" As she was trying to cross, her hooves were suddenly propelled upwards from below, and she was being raised into the air. The sea serpent had used its body to create a series of platforms for the ponies to jump across.

"Allow me!" The sea serpent said politely. The group, minus Yamano, all started to hop across the back of the sea serpent towards the other side of the river. Yamano decided to ford the river her own way, and shrugged at the sea serpent, before gesturing to her left leg, which had stopped bleeding by this point, but was still extremely sore. As she joined up with Twilight, she shook herself dry, much to the annoyance of Twilight, who was in prime splashing position.

"Really?" Twilight asked unamused.

"Afraid of a little water?" Yamano deadpanned. She started walking in front again, as she managed to pick up the pace a little bit with her leg now healed slightly. She shook her head in frustration as she was thinking to herself. 'Why must things be needlessly complicated?'

* * *

Travel was slow. The uneven terrain, the wild trees and vines blocking various paths through the forest, the general unease of the group causing slowed movement, all of this compounded upon the journey that was already long enough. The silence between everyone was deafening, and nobody could get their eyes to sit still. Everyone was moving forwards slowly, when they heard a twig snapping underneath their feet. Immediately, everyone present jumped into even higher alert. Fluttershy nearly jumped out of her skin and desperately grasped onto Yamano as she started shaking. Yamano considered pulling away, but decided it'd be best to let it continue, as she was obviously scared out of her mind. She merely placed her other hoof onto Fluttershys head and tried to stay as still as possible to not frighten the poor pegasus further. As seconds turned to minutes, the group finally started to calm themselves. Fluttershy was still shuddering uncontrollably as she buried her face into Yamanos shoulder. The guardian looked at the rest of the group for assistance, but they all seemed amused by the sight. Eventually she sighed and turned her attention to the terrified pegasus. She used her claws to gently comb through Fluttershys mane, trying to give an ounce of comfort. It took a long time for Fluttershy to calm down, and when she did, Yamano used her hoof to make their eyes meet.

"You okay?" the guardian spoke softly. Her usual stern coldness had vanished, making way for a relaxing warmth. Fluttershy nodded silently, smiling at the guardian. When Yamano smiled back, it was the first genuine smile she had given in years. Fragments of her old self before her time as an assassin were starting to come through, even though Yamano herself was unaware of it. "let's go. the elements won't find themselves." Yamano spoke broadly to the whole group, before helping Fluttershy back onto her hooves. She took a moment to look over the group, which seemed to have calmed down, aside from Pinkie Pie who seemed to be ecstatic. Yamano rolled her eyes. "What?"

"That was the first time I've seen you smile!" Pinkie yelled excitedly. "You didn't smile at the party! You look pretty when you smile. You should do it more!" The group just looked at Pinkie with skepticism, before Rainbow Dash burst out laughing. Everyone aside from Yamano laughed alongside her, but the guardian just looked tired.

"Can- can we just continue?" She said dryly. The moment of happiness had left her at the pink pony's comment, and she wanted nothing more than to leave the situation. Without saying anything about it, the group started to continue forwards while they all giggled between themselves.

* * *

As the group crested a line of trees, they saw that their destination was tantalisingly close.

"There it is!" Twilight exclaimed. "The ruins that hold the elements of harmony. We made it!" She started running full speed towards the ruins. Applejack called out to her.

"Twilight! Wait fer us!" She yelled excitedly as she and her friends all started following the purple unicorn. Yamano looked ahead, and saw Twilight was headed directly towards a drop-off.

"Twilight wait! Stop!" The guardian demanded. "You're headed for a-"

Before Yamano could finish her sentence, Twilight called back to the group without looking where she was going. "We're almost there!" the excited unicorn yelled out happily. As she finished speaking, her front hooves went directly over the edge of the cliff, where a ruined bridge hung down towards the base of a cavern. Yamano and Rainbow Dash immediately grabbed onto Twilight, pulling her away from the edge.

"I tried to tell you to stop." Yamano scolded. "Try listening for once." She narrowed her eyes at the mare, trying to drive the point home. Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"What's with you and falling off cliffs today?" Rainbow Dash asked sarcastically. The rest of the group ended up walking to the edge of the cliff themselves. Pinkie Pie sighed.

"NOW what?" Pinkie asked dejectedly. Yamano growled in annoyance, before pointing a hoof towards Rainbow Dash, who crouched down on her fore legs, before fluttering her wings.

"Duh." She smiled at the party pony before flying down the cliff face towards the opposite end of the bridge. She grabbed the bridge with her teeth before flying it up towards the opposing side of the cavern.

"Oh yeah!" Pinkie added sheepishly. "Woops."

As Rainbow touched down, both she and Yamano heard a voice on the wind that went unnoticed by the rest of the group. Rainbow immediately dropped the rope of the bridge as she looked about, whereas Yamano started creeping up to the edge of the cliff to get a better look.

"I ain't scared of you!" Rainbow yelled out before standing on her hind legs and punching the air with her front hooves. "Show yourself!"

Rainbow Dash's sudden shouts caught Yamano by surprise, and she reactively shifted her weight on the cliff edge. This sudden movement cause the rocks by the cliffside to fall away, causing Yamano to stumble forwards. She yelped in alarm, before digging her claws into the side of the cliff and sliding down a few feet. When she settled, she decided to turn her attention back towards Rainbow Dash instead of climbing back up, not before giving a sigh of relief.

Rainbow Dash looked about feverishly, looking for the pony the voice belonged to, before that same voice rang out around her again. "We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flyer in Equestria."

The pegasus looked baffled to say the least. She raised an eyebrow before cautiously answering back. "Who?"

"You, of course!" the mysterious voice replied whimsically.

"Really?!" Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel excited as her voice rose in pitch. "I mean, oh yeah! Me!" the flyers curiosity got the better of her as she responded again. "Hey, uh, you wouldn't mind telling the Wonderbolts that would ya? Cause, I've been trying to get into that group for like, ever!"

The mysterious voice softened as it spoke again. "No, Rainbow Dash, we want you to join US!" The sound of galloping cut through the dense fog, as three silhouettes of ponies came sprinting forwards, before the fog lifted revealing three uniformed ponies, one mare and two stallions, all of which had similar cutie marks and manes. They stood proudly before Rainbow Dash before announcing themselves as the Shadowbolts. Rainbow officially looked bewildered. "We're the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest! And soon we will be the greatest in ALL Equestria." The mares' facial expression shifted to that of mischief and manipulation. "But first, we need a captain." Rainbow Dash grinned in a full showing of teeth at the mention of captain. "The most magnificent-"

"YEP!" Rainbow Dash interjected quickly.

"Swiftest-"

"Yes!"

"most bravest flyer in all the land!"

"Yes! It's all true!" Rainbow stated proudly.

"We need…" The Shadowbolt mare paused before getting right next to the cyan pegasus' ear. "_you!_"

With little hesitation, Rainbow Dash leaped with all her strength high into the air, yelling in excitement.

"Whoo-hoo! Sign me up! Just let me tie this bridge real quick and then we have a deal!" Dash bent her head down to pick up the rope to the bridge but was interrupted as the same mare that was speaking zipped in front of her in the blink of an eye, standing on the rope in the process. Her tone shifted from admiration to harsh criticism.

"NO! It's them, or us!"

Yamano scowled, as she could hear the hidden layer of venom within the mares voice. Rainbow Dash merely looked on in scared confusion and consideration. Yamano heard the slight shuffling of hooves, as the group was getting impatient. She was also slightly annoyed, yet unsurprised that none of them had realised she had fallen.

"Rainbow Dash, what's taking so long?!" Twilight called worriedly across the cavern, afraid that something may have happened to the pegasus in question. Her vision shifted to give her a clearer view of the happenings across the bridge, where she saw the three Shadowbolts. "Oh no… RAINBOW!" Yamano once again flinched at the sudden raising of voices, and her grip slipped slightly. Frustrated, she climbed back up to the top and shook her head at Twilight. When she turned back towards the cyan pegasus, the shadowbolt mare glared towards the rest of the group, before the fog rolled further in, cutting them off from the arrogant flyer. Twilight tried in vain to call back out to her, but her voice was cut off by the thick wall of fog between them. She turned to Yamano, who she kind of figured had better senses than the rest of them given their time in the pitch-dark areas of the forest. "What were they saying?!" She said hurriedly, her worries coming out in spades in her voice.

Yamano growled slightly and continued to glare back at the previous position of the Shadowbolts. "They were playing to her ego. Trying to get her to ditch us to join them by saying they would surpass the Wonderbolts." Twilight and co. gasped, except for Rarity who scoffed.

"Preposterous! Rainbow wouldn't leave her friends just like that…" a hint of uncertainty entered her voice. "…would she?" An expression of shared worry settled on to all of their faces, as Yamano started staring at the general spot she last saw the arrogant pegasus, before channelling a small amount of her magic in the right half of her horn, causing a spell of light to transfer her senses into Rainbow Dash, allowing her to see what was happening. Rainbow was standing dumbstruck as the choice was laid before her. She seemed to debate within herself for a long time, before she started to mutter something under her breath.

"…you…" The eyes of the Shadowbolt mare widened in glee as she misinterpreted the mumbles as acceptance. Her expression shifted to shock as Rainbow Dash spoke up again. "Thank you, for the offer, I mean." She quickly shifted over and tied the rope to the stone post acting as an anchor for the bridge. "But, I'm afraid I have to say no." As she started to fly back, Yamano chuckled to herself at the surprise of everypony present.

"She hasn't left us. She's on her way." The group collectively sighed, letting the tension and worry flow from them without care. Yamano cancelled her spell and placed a clawed hoof on one of the pegasus' shoulders. She smiled mischievously at the now confused Rainbow Dash, before stopping by the bridge with an expectant look. The group all giggled to themselves, as Rainbow shook her head and smiled.

"See? I'd never leave my friends hangin'!" The group started to walk across the bridge, except for Rainbow of course, who flew, and a happy smile crept onto Twilights features. Yamano got onto the bridge just after Fluttershy, who tentatively tested each plank before stepping.

* * *

Yamano was gazing at the boards herself, seemingly distrusting of the old wood. She then glanced at a board directly underneath the path of Fluttershys next step, and before the soft yellow pegasus could finish her motion, she placed a hoof under Fluttershys stomach. As the timid caretakers hoof reached the bridge, she lurched forwards with a startled yelp as the slightly rotted board snapped in twain, leaving a perilous drop where once was what she thought was safe passage.

Fluttershy flailed about in fear for a few moments, before she realised she was being held in place by something. When she finally opened her eyes to look, she was surprised at Yamano saving her again. She smiled again at the 'assassin' before thinking to herself. 'I don't care _what_ Nightmare Moon says about her, she's too nice to be an assassin_._' She smiled at her own thoughts, but then thought over the events she had overheard earlier. From the sounds of it, Yamano had in fact confirmed the dark alicorns words about her past, which was confusing. 'if such a nice and caring pony as this _is_ an assassin…' she shuddered at the implications of this thought process. 'what made them _change?_'

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice she was still being held aloft by Yamano. She grinned shyly before re-situating her hooves to find purchase on the bridge but yelped again as Yamano sighed before picking her up and placing the pegasus on her back. Fluttershy immediately started to worry, as their combined weight would surely break through even more boards. It was surprising to say the least that her hoofsteps didn't cause some of the weaker looking boards to even creak. It was almost as if she was weightless, despite still being firmly rooted to the bridge. This fact seemed to confirm both thoughts she had about the one now carrying her. The assassin was considerate, that much was certain, but she also seemed highly trained. A little too trained. The thought lingered for a little too long, for as the time came that she was on the other side of the bridge, she was still debating to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by a slight poke to the center of her forehead, which startled her again. Fluttershy looked about wildly, trying to find the source of the sudden intrusion, before realizing it was Yamano who had done so with one of her new claws.

Fluttershy smiled at Yamano in thanks before going to join the rest of her new friends, pushing the idea of her new Savior being an assassin to the back of her mind. She would ask the seemingly self-appointed guardian angel when she could build up the courage, but for now it was too jarring.

* * *

As the door to the ruins opened, a slight gasp was heard from Applejack, although all of them looked in awe. "Come on, Twilight. Isn't this what you've been waitin' for?" Twilight walked briskly up to a statue of some sort, with six podiums, each holding a dull, grey stone, with one giant stone in the middle.

"The Elements of Harmony! We found them!" She exclaimed in excitement. As the group came to a stop, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash started grabbing and carrying the six stones back to Twilight. They made sure to place them gently, as even though they were made of stone, they looked like they could be fragile. Pinkie Pie started counting them off as they arrived.

"Three, four, five… there's only six!" Pinkie exclaimed in confusion. Rainbow Dash shared a look before glancing around to the rest of the room.

"Where's the seventh?" The cyan pegasus said quickly as she was trying to hide her nervousness, much to the cold amusement of Yamano.

"Should have figured all this would freak you out, Dash." Yamano stated before pausing, before stating in fake mockery, "Need a hug~?"

"Wha- you- grh, shut up! I ain't scared! I bet you're more scared than the rest of us!" She paused to think, before adding quietly. "Except maybe Fluttershy."

Twilight quickly glared at them both. "Stop picking on her Yamano. And Rainbow, that wasn't very nice either." Yamano merely shrugged, as Rainbow Dash looked away sheepishly.

"You know it's true though, right Twilight?" Yamano stated in a bored tone. "Fluttershy does seem to be easily frightened."

Fluttershy smiled sheepishly at the comment, before Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sure that's not true. Right Fluttershy?..."

The silence was palpable.

"Fluttershy?" Twilight tried again, but the pegasus in question merely shrugged. "Oh." She shook her head in annoyance, before deeming it best to change the subject. "Okay. The book said when the six are present, a spark will cause the seventh element to be revealed."

Applejack narrowed her eyes in frustration. "An' what in the hay is _that_ supposed to mean?" Twilight shrugged.

"I'm not sure, but I have an idea." She stared down towards the elements with determination. "Stand back, I don't know what will happen."

At her request, all the girls backed away from the lavender unicorn with hesitation. The only one who stayed close by was Yamano, who only took two small steps back. As the rest of the group started to leave the room, Twilight began to channel a spell through her horn. Yamano slowed her breathing down to a point where it was silent, and briefly channelled a dark spell of her own, drawing the shadows from around the room to envelop her, keeping her presence hidden to allow Twilight to concentrate.

A few seconds passed in awkward silence, before Yamano felt another presence behind the both of them. She pivoted her head and saw a familiar blue nebulous mist start floating towards the stones. The mist started whirling around the elements, picking them up in a cyclone of energy. This caught Twilights attention, who yelled out in shock. It was just loud enough to catch the attention of the rest of the group, who were waiting outside. As they came sprinting back through the door, Yamano started to inch closer to the nebulous energy in an attempt to grab the elements.

Before she was successful, however, Twilight leapt forwards towards the elements, getting caught up in the energy. The group all called out to her, before Yamano jumped in immediately afterwards. The mist, along with Twilight, Yamano and the elements all vanished from sight, leaving the group highly confused.

* * *

In a flash of light and a blast of smoke, Twilight and Yamano appeared in a different room with a thud. Twilight was on the ground, coughing, and Yamano was recovering from sudden vertigo. Being incapable of arcane natured magic had its drawbacks, such as being unused to teleportation. Their attention was drawn by a low, sinister chuckle originating from elsewhere in the room. Crashes of lightning and thunder rang out around the dark alicorn standing menacingly in the center of the new area. Both mares gasped, before Twilight crouched down in preparation to charge the aggressor. Yamano subtly raised an eyebrow, and Nightmare Moons eyes narrowed in exasperation.

"You're kidding." The alicorn stated tiredly. She turned her attention briefly to the assassin standing nearby. "She's kidding, right?"

Yamano sighed in frustration. With a cheeky smirk, she turned back towards Nightmare Moon. "I'll never understand the ponies in Equestria." She threw a side-on glance towards Twilight, noticing a spell starting to channel through her horn. Realizing her plan, Yamano conjured her scythe. Throwing a challenging glare at Nightmare Moon, she clicked her neck and shifted her weight to prepare for a sprint.

Twilight started the charge, running straight towards Nightmare Moon with determination. Rolling their eyes, Yamano and the dark alicorn started directly afterwards. Yamano took up a position directly behind Twilight, scythe held out to the side, with the back of the blade held forwards. Nightmare Moon rushed directly towards Twilight; whose spell started to glow brighter. Just as they were about to collide, Twilight teleported past the aggressor, leaving her to clash against the assassin. In an almost invisible motion, Yamano grabbed onto Nightmare Moons horn, holding her in place. She looked past towards Twilight, before yelling as she struggled against the dark alicorn.

"Twilight, do it now!" She continued struggling against the alicorn, who was much stronger than she anticipated.

Twilight started muttering to herself, too far away for Yamano to hear correctly over the grunts between the two warring alicorns. It didn't stop Nightmare Moon from sensing the spell she was trying to cast however, causing her to vanish into mist again and reappear in front of Twilight. Yamano attempted to run forwards to protect her, but was intercepted as Twilights spell backfired, sending her flying backwards towards the guardian. Yamano skidded across the floor, taking the brunt of the momentum away from Twilight by catching the unicorn against her chest.

As they looked back up towards Nightmare Moon, they saw the elements sparking with magic, with the alicorns front hooves within the confines of the circle they created. Nightmare Moon started to panic as the elements glowed brighter. Everything was going to plan for Twilight... Until the elements stopped glowing. The unicorn in question gasped in shock, before Yamano helped her back onto her hooves.

"Where's the seventh element? It should be here by now!" The panic in Twilights voice was painfully obvious to Yamano.

She would have responded, but her voice wasn't playing along. Instead of words, all that came was a low growl, reminiscent of wild predators growling at their prey. She released her light grip on Twilight and started menacingly walking towards the now laughing alicorn. Her laughter continued, unaware of the assassin creeping towards her.

* * *

Yamano burst into full sprint towards Nightmare Moon, but instead of intercepting the annoyance, the dark alicorn reared onto her hind legs, and slammed down with a burst of magic, shattering the elements of harmony in one motion.

Yamano skidded to a halt, and Twilight stared on in shock. The elements of harmony, the one thing they were there for, destroyed in front of their eyes. A look of indignation crept onto Nightmare Moons face as Yamanos expression turned dark.

"You little foals. Thinking you could defeat me?!... Now, you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last _forever!_" Nightmare Moon bellowed with ferocity and started cackling madly as her power whirled around her in another nebulous mist.

Her laughter was cut short by a flash of silver-ish grey flying past her face. Turning in surprise, she immediately noticed a short dagger with a viciously curved blade stuck in the wall behind her. The guard on the dagger was a black wing, starting at the base of the blade and reaching the small gem pommel on the base of the hilt. The suddenness of the dagger flying past had scared her, and as she looked back towards her opponents, she was visibly shaken.

The look on the assassins face to anyone viewing from outside would seem calm. Serene even. But there were subtle differences. Differences that only made themselves known to the one receiving her gaze. Her normally light blue eyes had shifted to a dirty mix of dark blue and yellow. Slight shadows covered parts of her face as her dark magic whipped around viciously and uncontrolled. Even though it wasn't a particularly frightening sight, the slight differences were enough to throw someone out of their guards, and the anger within her was still able to be felt, even if she didn't make it obvious.

Nightmare Moon was nervous. This was the first seemingly normal pony she had met that managed to deeply scare her. She instinctively created a shield around herself, the look she was receiving did not sit well and was making her paranoid. She expected the assassin to make a beeline for her and attack without remorse. As such, she was glad when the assassin got distracted by a noise from behind.

* * *

Yamanos attention was ripped away from the infuriating alicorn standing in front of her when the rest of her companions voices started getting louder. She turned briefly, glancing at Twilight. The unicorn in question had a sudden smirk on her face, as she turned to look at Nightmare Moon. She spoke with confidence and sass, much to the guardians surprise.

"You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony, just like that?" Nightmare Moon flinched at the sudden brashness of the unicorn in front of her. "Well, you're wrong! Because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right _here!_" Everypony present took up positions around Twilight, Yamano standing a little in front while everypony else was behind.

As soon as Twilight was done with her proclamation, the shards of the destroyed elements started floating on their own, away from Nightmare Moon, and towards the group of ponies standing before her. Twilight continued with fervour. "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of Honesty!" A group of shards started floating and surrounding Applejack. "Fluttershy, who tamed a manticore with compassion, represents the spirit of Kindness!" The shards then started surrounding Fluttershy as well. "Yamano Sagiri, who threw herself into the face of near certain death in protection of another, represents the spirit of Selflessness!" A small smile crept onto Yamanos face, and she held out a hoof, which the shards that hovered towards her started to surround. "Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of Laughter!" Pinkie bounced with excitement as more shards started surrounding her as well. "Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of Generosity!" Rarity had a look of apprehension on her face as the shards started surrounding her too. "Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of Loyalty!" The shards surrounded the seemingly unaffected Rainbow Dash. "The spirits of these six ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!" Twilights smile widened and she looked at Nightmare Moon triumphantly. The dark alicorn was exceedingly nervous at this point.

"You still don't have the seventh element! The spark didn't work!" Nightmare Moon spoke with venom and spite, but a slight undertone betrayed her fear. Yamano spoke up at this point.

"If it didn't work, Nightmare Moon, then why do you sound afraid?" Yamano chuckled dryly. Her eyes shifted back to her normal light blue.

"Silence! The spark couldn't have worked! You would have all the elements if it did!" Nightmare Moon was fully panicking at this point. Twilight interjected before she could continue.

"But it did. A different kind of spark! I felt it the moment I realised how happy I was to hear you, to see you. How much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me. When I realised that you all…" She paused as a few tears broke free. She turned back towards Nightmare Moon. "Are my friends!"

At the exact moment those words had left Twilight, a bright flash appeared above the group. In its wake, another stone with another mark hovered down towards Twilight. At the same time, Yamano choked on her own spit at the mention of her being friends with Twilight and the group. The thought hadn't exactly occurred to her, but she liked the idea.

"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those elements are ignited by the…" she paused a moment to think. "The spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the seventh element. The Element of Magic!"

The glowing element above the group tripled in brightness, and the shards hovering around each pony started congregating together. Each of the ponies, bar Twilight and Yamano, were suddenly wearing gold necklaces with gems that matched their cutie marks. Yamano's had traversed to her front left claws, changing the material from their usual steel to a purple-gold alloy, with a new Jet gem where the once-gauntlets met the rest of her leg in the shape of her spiked shield cutie mark. Twilight's element changed into a golden crown, with the gem adorning the top in a spire.

A burst of magic was released from the now floating ponies, twisting around the group and creating a rainbow, with two extra streaks, one black and one white, on either side. The rainbow energy hurtled towards Nightmare Moon, the main rainbow twisting around her and the extra black and white streaks headed straight towards the dark alicorn. The corrupt energy that made up Nightmare Moon was being stripped away, and the two streaks had latched onto her, pulling in opposite directions. The black streak dragged Nightmare Moon with it, and the white streak had dragged the small figure of another alicorn, seemingly not much older than a filly, out from the writhing form of Nightmare moon. Once they had been separated, all of the ponies opened their eyes, all of which were glowing white with power. The burst of power destroyed the remnants of Nightmare Moon before vanishing.

* * *

Yamano was the first to regain consciousness. Glancing around in confusion and panic, she saw the shivering form of a blue-ish purple filly with a dark blue mane, and a cutie mark in the shape of a moon, floating a few inches off the ground. Without pausing for consideration, Yamano ran forwards, using the light half of her magic to augment her speed, and caught the filly before she hit the ground. It was at this time that the rest of her… friends, had started to rouse themselves. She suddenly realised how bad of a headache she had but refused to turn her attention away from the shivering princess still in her hooves. She gently shook her awake, making sure not to aggravate any possible injuries she may have had.

"Are you okay, Luna?" She spoke softly, so softly in fact that her friends hadn't even heard her despite their relatively close position to her.

Luna shuddered, confused at the unfamiliar touch and voice. It took a few moments to realise who the voice belonged to, and her eyes widened in shock. When she looked towards her saviour, she expected to see scornful eyes and hatred, but instead, what she saw she couldn't comprehend. It was the eyes of what felt like a mothers love.

"Why do you look at me like that?... I do not deserve your forgiveness for what I have done…" Luna asked quietly, obviously downtrodden.

"Throw that way of thinking to the wayside, princess. No pony will blame you for what has happened this day." Yamano responded kindly, unexpectedly so even for herself. Before she could continue, or before Luna could respond, a bright flash of magic appeared from behind her friends, and in its wake, Celestia had appeared.

Most of the ponies present bowed their heads in respect, whereas Twilight ran up and hugged the sun princess. Yamano payed little attention, checking Luna over for any injuries. She placed her claws supportively on the princesses back, as she had started shivering in fear of her sister.

"Princess Luna." Celestia stated somewhat harshly. "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this." As Celestia drew closer, Luna hid her head in Yamanos shoulder, highly unexpected by all present. The princess of the sun smiled softly at the notion, and silently thanked Yamano, who in return lightly nodded her head.

"Luna, listen to her." She ran a claw through the princesses mane, hoping to release some of the tension built up into the remorseful alicorn. She responded with a weak nod, before turning back to Celestia with her eyes closed.

Celestia broke the brief silence with a soft voice. "Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister." The silence that hang in the air after her declaration could have been sliced with a butter knife it was that heavy.

"Sister?!" Twilight broke the silence in shock.

Celestia continued unaware of the confusion. "Will you accept my friendship?"

All the ponies present, bar Yamano who was still holding Luna in as comforting an embrace as she could muster, were leaning in closer to hear the response. Pinkie Pie ended up leaning too far and fell on her face with a yelp. Luna thought to herself for a moment, a look of grief and guilt creeping over her features. She eventually broke the embrace that the assassin was giving, rushing to her sisters side.

"I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!" Luna responded sadly and desperately. Both sisters were in tears now that they were in each others embrace.

"I missed you too." Celestia spoke as calmly as she could manage, which all things considered was impressive considering she was crying equally as hard as Luna was. The touching moment was slightly ruined by Pinkie Pie's loud crying and nose-blowing, which evolved into literal waterfalls of tears.

Yamano was about to go and console the pink earth pony, but never got the chance as she switched so fast from upset to happy and bubbly that she couldn't even see the transition.

"Hey! You know what this calls for?!" Pinkie Pie let the question hang for dramatic effect. "A PARTY!" She announced loudly, much to the chagrin of Yamano who still had a pounding headache. The party pony started leading the charge as most of the group started heading out. Celestia and Luna stayed in each other's embrace as Yamano moved forward to stand next to them. She whispered into Lunas ear.

"Told you I would save you." Yamano spoke mischievously. The recent event had her elated, and she felt content with her new life. It was far superior to her old life, which felt like Tartarus incarnate compared to recent events.

Luna jumped at the sudden closeness of Yamano's voice. All the memories made as Nightmare Moon started creeping back, and she froze in fear at what she remembered. The pony standing before her was an assassin, if her memories were to be believed. She subconsciously shifted away from the purple element bearer and shrank into Celestia's embrace. She looked to her sister for assurance but was shocked to see her smiling at the assassin.

"Thank you for saving my sister, Yamano. It was more than I had hoped." Celestia spoke warmly, as if speaking to an old friend. The guardian in question shrugged.

"Just doing my job, Celestia. The history that Archades kept had records of your sisters existence, and her losing herself to Nightmare Moon. I would not let such innocence be lost to something as ridiculous as jealousy." Yamano's tone darkened as she mentioned her homeland but didn't make a huge deal out of it.

Yamano had turned her attention away from the bonding sisters and noticed Fluttershy hadn't left with the others. Confused, and slightly concerned, she walked up to the pink maned pegasus.

"You not going with the others?" Yamano asked quietly. She still walked cautiously so as not to frighten the pegasus, but after a little observation she realised she had calmed down around the assassin.

"oh. I, uhm, I was waiting for you. The walk through the forest still scares me." Fluttershy spoke hesitantly, making it clear she was hiding something. Yamano decided not to pry.

"Are you hurt or something? I'll carry you back with me if so." Yamano asked with a half chuckle.

"No. I'm fine. Uhm, I'm more worried about you. You, uhm, didn't exactly give yourself much time to heal." Fluttershy stated meekly, shifting her eyes sub-consciously to the spot where Yamano had been struck by the manticore.

Yamano waved a clawed hoof in dismissal. "I'm fine, Fluttershy. I may not be at peak performance, but I'm not going to collapse any time soon.

"Oh. That's good." Fluttershy responded quietly. Neither pony continued to speak, leaving an awkward silence looming over their heads. A silence that lasted a little too long, as when they glanced around the room, they realised they were both completely alone. The princesses had already moved on ahead.

The silence went from awkward to painful. Having been fed up, Yamano decided to speak.

"shall… shall we get moving? Before they completely leave us behind."

Fluttershy nodded as Yamano took point. They were both nervous about traversing the forest with just the two of them, but Fluttershy took it to an extreme. She ended up standing extremely close to Yamano, who by no means tried to force her away, but still felt weird having someone rely on her so much for safety. The trip was uneventful however, and they found themselves standing outside of the forest before they knew it.

"That… wasn't so bad." The guardian sighed in relief. "Let's go see what Pinkie has planned, I guess."

Fluttershy nodded again. She had tried multiple times throughout the trip to ask Yamano about what she had overheard from the conversation between her and Nightmare Moon, but each time she tried, the words failed her. She decided to think about it some more before trying again.

* * *

As the duo entered Ponyville, they were greeted by a heart-warming sight. The residents of Ponyville had no qualms accepting the appearance of Luna and were celebrating her arrival. Yamano and Fluttershy split away from each other at this point, and while Fluttershy went to stand with her friends, Yamano moved over to Twilight, who was standing a little ways out, looking sad about something.

"Hey Twilight. Are you alright?" Twilight remained quiet. It was obvious something was bothering her. Yamano had a sneaking suspicion. "You don't want to go back to Canterlot, huh?" A slow nod was all she got as a response. "I see. I'll go get Celestia then. Stay here." Yamano started walking towards the princess in question. She chose a spot just within Celestia's peripheral vision and beckoned her over. Celestia nodded in confirmation and peeled herself away from the adoring crowds.

"Why so glum, my faithful student?" Celestia asked with the tone of a caring mother. Her tone shifted to amusement. "Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?" Twilight hung her head low at the mention of Canterlot.

"That's just it." Her voice was laden with disappointment. "Just when I've learned how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them." The new group of friends had gathered around, and all looked sad at the concept.

Celestia gave a patient smile, before closing her eyes. "Spike, take a note please."

Spike was about to voice a complaint, but Pinkie Pie magicked up a quill and parchment for the baby dragon. Yamano was confused. Again. She needed to do some investigation later.

"I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree, that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings, from her new home in Ponyville."

All at once, the previous residents of Ponyville-turned-friends gathered around Twilight in excitement. They were all chattering happily, until two of them realised something. Applejack and Fluttershy both asked Celestia something at the same time.

"What about Yamano/Will Yamano be able to stay?" Celestia failed to hide a giggle at the question.

"I couldn't exactly separate my student from her guardian, now could I. Somepony has to make sure she stays out of trouble." Celestia gave Yamano a knowing look and smiled. The guardians eyes were wide with surprise, and all motor functions had ceased. "Besides, I'd say she is as much a friend of yours as Twilight is."

Yamano struggled with the information for far too long. All her new friends had smiles on their faces, but she couldn't just accept the realisation too easily. "So I'm… NOT being sent back to Archades? Or thrown in a dungeon? Or-"

The looks on all her friends faces looked confused. Except for Fluttershy, who squeaked in apprehension at the mention of a dungeon, her knowing what Yamano used to be. Yamano realised what she had said and brought a clawed hoof to her face. "That's going to take some explaining…"

Celestia sighed in slight frustration. "You realise that the moment I brought you here from Archades, you had forfeited all obligations to return to that place? I would never send you back willingly." Celestia shifted her gaze down to Yamanos left hoof. "And I also wouldn't send an Element of Harmony to a distant kingdom. Something tells me that it would be rather difficult to part you from yours."

Yamano didn't know what to think. So she didn't. A few moments of complete silence passed. Or at least what felt like silence. Eventually, she let out a short chuckle. Then a longer one. And then collapsed, laughing hysterically at the prospect of being free. It was a moment of pure glee, a happiness she had never felt possessing her entire being. She never had to face the bastard that haunted her nightmares ever again, unless she herself chose to.

The rest of the group all looked at each other sceptically. They didn't know what had happened to make Yamano break down so completely, but they were glad that she seemed happy. It was the first time they had seen her even remotely happy, and were glad they could be there to experience it. The immense jubilance emanating from the guardian removed any and all traces of the dangerous presence that had scared Fluttershy when they had first met. After a while, the joyful laughter from the guardian became infectious, causing everyone else to start giggling and laughing alongside her. Even Celestia seemed to be having trouble keeping up an air of professionalism. Even if they didn't know why they laughed, they were glad to know the once serious and broody guardian had opened up a little more.

Pinkie, surprisingly, was the first to try and calm herself down. She looked about her friends, and yelled out. "LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED! PRINCESSES, YOU AREN'T GETTING OUT OF THIS!"

Twilight was the next to calm herself, and turned towards the princess. "Thank you Princess Celestia! I'll study harder than ever before!" The princess smiled warmly at the declaration, and soon cheers were heard from across all of Ponyville. It was a good day. And this party would be HUGE!


	4. Chapter 3

**Original conteeeeeent~! Yeah I don't really like ticket master, and any way I thought of to add Yamano to that episode…. Didn't work. At least in terms of having her present for the WHOLE ordeal. Sooo…. Eh, I tried. Have fun!**

**oh, and I also must thank Edge_Columbus for helping me break out of my writers block. I always seem to get it either at the start of a chapter or when a scene transition crops up. Show him some support too and read his stuffs :D I personally find it a lot of fun to read. Not Just a Game has gotta be one of his best too.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Tension

All Yamano could do was panic. Consuming her entire vision was a dirty, bright wall of orange and black. Her lungs burned with sulphur and ash and she couldn't breathe. She could barely even move. And so, she panicked. Her eyes flitted about feverishly, searching desperately for some semblance of escape. She started heating up, to the point where it hurt. A single thought infiltrated her mind and echoed without end.

Fire.

She thrashed about, desperately scrambling onto her hooves, yet no matter where she looked, the wall of fire and smoke would not leave her vision. She ran, faster and faster, but she couldn't escape the heat. The flames grew larger, surrounding her entirely. She started breathing heavier and heavier, true fear finally starting to settle in. and yet, she froze. Something in the corner of her mind echoed quietly. She couldn't hear it. She didn't care.

"…ama…" She heard it again. She couldn't make out what it was, but it was getting louder.

"…Yamano…" And again. Someone was calling her name.

"Who's there?! Somepony, please, help!" She screamed out in desperation, not caring who it was. The voice called louder.

"Yamano!" something in her mind latched onto this voice. The flames heat vanished, but it was still all she could see. The smoke started to overwhelm her, and her vision went blurry. Eventually, she collapsed, unable to concentrate any more.

* * *

Yamano's eyes snapped open, and she sat up with a start. It was so sudden that she even fell from her improvised bed. Memories of her nightmare was all that registered while she laid on the floor, breathing extremely heavily. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was.

"Right… the library basement…" She whispered to herself, much more meekly than she would sound when around others. She started to slowly get her breathing under control.

"Yamano! You awake yet?!" Yamano jumped at the sudden intrusion of the voice. It took a second for her to realize it was Twilight who had yelled.

"YAMANO?!" Twilight started yelling louder and louder. Yamano decided to respond before she blew the roof of the library off.

"I'm awake, settle down." She failed to hide the shakiness of her voice. She stepped past the various books and machines that were being stored down in the basement she was taking residence in. she started to climb the stairs unsteadily, before realising she didn't have her normal attire on. She took a moment to summon it, forcing her wings underneath the cloth and leather.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she reached out with a clawed hoof to open the door to the main room. She would have been successful, if it wasn't for Twilight opening the door before she had a chance, knocking her back down the stairs. A series of painful slams was heard throughout the entire library, as she bounced all the way.

"…Ow…" Yamano tried her best to resituate herself but gave up when she realised she was currently upside down. "Warn me next time you do that Twilight." She said coldly.

Twilight winced at the sight of a bruise forming on Yamano's face. "Sorry about that, I didn't know you were behind the door. Are… you okay?" Twilights voice was a little hushed, letting an ounce of worry and concern through as she regarded her newly appointed guardian. "You seemed so happy a few days ago, what happened?"

"A few days ago?" Yamano inquired with scepticism. She thought back to the day Nightmare Moon had returned and remembered the moment she broke down laughing in front of the whole town. She sighed before returning her attention to Twilight. "It was a mixture of slight dizziness from my injuries and jubilance from relief."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Relief about what? And what made you so sour after the fact?" Instead of an answer, Twilight observed Yamano's eyes shift off to the side meekly. For a brief instance, the visage of a filly had replaced Yamano in the unicorns gaze. A scared, lonely child. Twilight wasn't sure if it was a trick of the mind or the light, but it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. And just as quickly, Yamano's face had tensed into a distressed knot.

"None of your business." Yamano's voice was hard, and unforgiving. Yet at the same time, it held an aura of uncertainty, one that Twilight never thought she would hear from someone as seemingly skilled as the 'unicorn' laying before her. "What do you want, anyways?"

Twilight blinked at the sudden question. She shook her head of the cobwebs invading her mind and answered clearly. "I was about to head down to Sweet Apple Acres to assist Applejack, but I was interrupted when Princess Celestia sent a letter for you. I figured I should let you know before I left." As if waiting for the cue, Spike walked in onto the top of the stairs with a letter in his claws. He chuckled at the unfortunate position that Yamano had neglected to escape from.

"You alright down there?" Spike asked quickly, trying his darndest not to break down laughing at the fact that Yamano's tail was currently hanging over her face.

"Can it, Spike." Yamano did a half-roll backwards to set her hooves back onto the ground, before painfully hoisting herself back up. A series of clicks sounded throughout the basement room, all originating from Yamano's joints as they shifted back into perfect positioning. One final click originating in the neck prompted Yamano to speak again. "Thanks for letting me know, Twilight. I'll see what she wants."

Climbing the stairs again, she gently grasped the scroll that Spike was holding in her own claws, prying open the ribbon and seal that held it shut. Both Twilight and Spike turned to leave, as Yamano went back down into the basement. What was written was not what she expected.

"_Yamano._

_I would like for you to assist the royal guard with preparations for the Grand Galloping Gala coming up soon. I believe your experience gained from living in Archades will help a great deal in ensuring our security is sufficient. As much as I would love for the Gala to be an open event, certain appearances must be kept, and I'm afraid that security has always been lax regarding this event._

_I would have you join your efforts with the captain of the guard, Shining Armor. He will be expecting you to arrive in Canterlot within the next few days. I feel I must also apologize. As a matter of course, I have had to tell Shining Armor about your origins, and a little about your past. I hope you understand, although I cannot begin to ask for your forgiveness. _

_A word of warning. Shining Armor didn't take the information very well, so he may be a little cold towards you. Again, I am sorry._

_I hope you are well. You did immediately vanish after the first day, after all._

_P.S. I do not exactly know how Archades' current monarch ends his letters. If you would like me to end them in the same way, please let me know how he does it. Or, of course if you don't, then forget I asked."_

Yamano sighed in frustration as she reached the end of the letter. "This is straight up conscription…" She started mumbling to herself, not caring that there wasn't anypony around to hear her complaints. When she re-read the part about telling the guard captain about her past, she accidentally poked a couple of holes into the letter as her claws gripped tighter. "I guess I'm headed to Canterlot then. Now then, do I take the train, or should I walk…"

* * *

She had been walking for far too long. Not used to quite as much distance as there was between Ponyville and Canterlot, she decided to take a short break under a lone tree on a hill. The hill gave her a vantage point that allowed her to see oversee Ponyville, even if it was a lot further away than she would have preferred. Her mind wandered to the blurry memories of her nightmare. It wasn't that she was confused about it. No, she knew perfectly well why the nightmare could have existed. Instead, she asked herself something.

'_Why fire this time? Why not… _**him**?'

To anypony that knew her well, of which there were few, they would be able to tell exactly who she was talking about. But something about her own mind disallowed her to think of the silhouette as anything but that. A silhouette of a pegasus, with a wickedly wide grin, showing a full set of sharpened teeth. The one who had been the focal point of all her nightmares over the past two years.

Her whole body shuddered out of fear. Quickly trying to suppress all memories of the pony, she turned her gaze out towards her surroundings. And she would be lying if she said she didn't like what she saw. The fields surrounding this lone hill were surprisingly serene, the wind of the pegasus weather teams seemingly not reaching this haven of nature. Everything was still, almost as if time had stopped.

She quickly realized that couldn't be the case, however, when she felt a slight disturbance in the air around her. It was unfamiliar, however, as it didn't feel like the sharp push of wind caused by a certain speedster. No, instead it seemed haphazard, uncertain, yet continuous. She quickly scoured the skies for what could possibly cause a feeling like that, before she saw something she wasn't quite expecting. In the form of a certain grey haired, blonde maned pegasus with a serious case of walleye.

She tried to place a name to the face. It didn't take too long, as she heard the name 'Derpy' being yelled out by Rainbow Dash during Nightmare Moons first appearance. But once again, the skewed flight pattern of the walleyed pegasus threw her out of her train of thought. She saw the pegasus starting to careen off towards the ground. At a respectable speed. Without control.

'_Aw, crap-baskets._'

She sprinted down the hill, influencing her speed with her light magic, and positioned herself directly in Derpy's path. Despite her not being Rainbow Dash, she had to give the blonde credit, as she was quickly starting to reach terminal velocity far faster than she was supposed to. And it showed, for when Derpy collided headfirst with Yamano, she was forced backwards a fair distance, creating many ruts in the ground from where her claws tried to gain purchase.

After they had settled, Yamano ended up standing on nothing but her hind legs, with Derpy safely caught and un-injured in her front hooves. Although, the pegasus' head was spinning, and she was hanging upside down. Yamano quickly rearranged Derpy to place her on her hooves instead of her back, before shaking her head.

"You alright there, Derpy?" Her voice was laden with aches and pains, but she tried her darndest to sound concerned. And to great effect it seemed.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Derpy smiled sheepishly at Yamano. Or… at least she thought it was at her. She couldn't quite tell with how her left eye seemed to wander on its own. Getting a better look on how it acted, it almost certainly seemed to be a condition.

"Is your eye causing you trouble?" Yamano asked as softly as she could manage. It seemed she was correct, as the blonde seemed to suddenly grow far sadder. She nodded her head slowly and looked to be anticipating something. "Are you waiting for something, Derpy?"

The pegasus in question raised her head in shock. She took a few moments to sort her thoughts, before looking back at Yamano. "You aren't going to make fun of me?"

Yamano didn't know what to think at that. Part of her was outraged, another understanding. Apparently, the twitch in her eye wasn't very well received by Derpy, who flinched in fear. Yamano sighed in frustration, before turning a half gaze to Derpy, her voice unintentionally adopting a low growl.

"**_Who has been ridiculing you over this?_**_"_ There were a lot of things Yamano would tolerate. But ridicule over something uncontrollable? Not a chance. Derpy shivered in fright at the venom dripping from Yamano's voice, making her savior flinch in hesitation. She took a few deep breaths, before trying again. "Who has been ridiculing you over something you obviously can't control?"

Derpy herself seemed to have calmed down a little too, as she looked more confident at answering. "Nopony important. Just some ponies who don't know any better…" She answered slowly, but with purpose.

Yamano was once again outraged. She placed a clawed hoof over her own face, before letting out a long, annoyed, venom laden sigh. She sat in silence for a few seconds, considering how to respond. She nodded to herself, before she turned back to Derpy, and pointed at her twin horn.

"I was ridiculed for this thing you know."

Derpy's eyes widened in shock. She stayed in that state until Yamano poked her in the forehead. "Back where I'm from, Mutations like this were far more commonplace than in Equestria, but it was still super rare. Because of what happened as a result of this Mutation, all my peers laughed, bullied, and assaulted me." Derpy gasped in shock again, but Yamano held up a hoof to keep her quiet. "My home kingdom isn't as… accepting of differences as Equestria. And is a fair amount more violent. But that isn't the point." Derpy slowly nodded her head, obviously taking her words to heart. Yamano continued quietly. "The way I see it, you have two options. Personally, I wish you didn't have to take either, but as it is, it may be necessary. One, you can hide the issue. It is not a healthy solution, but it can help give solace of mind."

Yamano paused to see Derpy's reaction. It was a look of careful consideration and fervent determination. Something she never expected to see from someone seeming so happy otherwise. She continues her list. "Two, and this is the tough option. Confront them. Make them understand that you won't let their taunts affect you." At these words, Derpy flinched and seemed to shrink into herself. Yamano placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I did say that it was the tough option. It wouldn't be easy, but it's a far more permanent solution to the issue."

Derpy remained quiet for a long time after that. For such a long time, in fact, that it had officially transitioned into the afternoon before Derpy spoke again.

"I… I think I should just hide it for now… maybe when I get a bit of confidence, I'll do the second thing, but until then…" She trailed off, seemingly unwilling to finish that final sentence. Yamano merely hummed in acknowledgement.

"So, Derpy, where were you headed before you crashed into me?" Yamano asked with a smirk.

"I… I was heading to Canterlot. Have to deliver a letter." She answered, assuredly confused at this point.

"Seriously? I was headed there as well; I was just having a break." Yamano smiled sheepishly at the next thought that appeared. "But uh… Canterlot is in the… Other, direction."

Derpy raised an eyebrow, then got a better look at her surroundings. Realizing she had indeed started flying in the incorrect direction, she facehoofed and smiled at Yamano. "Do you… think you could help me get there? I'm losing more and more faith in my sense of direction these days."

Yamano couldn't help chuckling. Instead of giving an answer, she picked up the pegasus, startling her to no end, and placing her upon her own back. She then started briskly walking towards Canterlot.

"Wha- what are you doing?!" The panic was palpable. Surprisingly so. And yet, even more surprising was the fact that Derpy didn't try to jump off her back or anything.

"I figured it'd be better if you didn't waste your energy on this. You have probably flown a fair distance already, after all. Wouldn't want you collapsing of exhaustion on the way." Yamano answered with a smirk and a chuckle.

"W-well, what about you?"

"Oh please, this is nothing. Besides, this way I can guarantee you get to Canterlot in decent time." She craned her neck around to throw Derpy a smile, before turning back to her destination.

"Well… okay!" And with that, she readjusted herself to get comfortable, and settled for the journey. Yamano shook her head with a smile.

* * *

The normal hustle and bustle of Canterlot and its elite members was soundly disrupted. It wasn't exactly an incident, or an event, or anything of that manner. Instead, they all stopped and stared despite themselves at an extremely unfamiliar and wholly unexpected sight. Walking along the street as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, was a unicorn. That wasn't what was strange, however. It was the fact that they were carrying a pegasus on their back. What's more, the unicorn in question didn't even seem to struggle with her added burden. To top it off, the pegasus seemed to be half asleep, yet aware all at the same time. It almost seemed as if they had been in this position for a very, very long time.

Derpy glanced about nervously at the staring ponies, all of which seemed relatively high class. She fidgeted nervously as more and more eyes turned to them.

"Stay calm. Just ignore them." Yamano said softly, just loud enough for the pegasus to hear. What happened next, Yamano would come to regret for forcing Derpy to experience. She let her Malice escape from her, flooding the area in what could only be described as killing intent. The poor blonde on her back started shuddering but tried her best to stay calm. The high-class ponies that had stopped and stared at the unlikely sight had almost immediately turned their attentions elsewhere and moved on at this brief display. As she reigned in her Malice, she gave a deep sigh as she spoke to her current charge. "Sorry about that. Just a… little side effect of my upbringing." She smiled apologetically towards the pegasus mare on her back.

"It… it's fine. It was scary though…" Derpy shuddered one last time, before re-settling herself. Then she looked about, and suddenly got rather confused. "Where are we even going?"

"Getting you something to cover your eye." Yamano responded in what was almost monotone, making it painfully obvious that she didn't approve, but was going along with it anyways. "Peace of mind is extremely important. So, I want to make sure you have it, even if it's out of my reach."

Derpy was quiet for a little while after that. Yamano felt a little awkward, and continued walking, but her mind wandered to the fact that she was technically late. She sighed in resignation. 'Shining Armor's gonna kill me…'

Derpy broke the long silence that had settled over the two. "Why are you doing so much for me? We've only met twice…" She spoke rather quietly, reminding Yamano a little of Fluttershy. She sighed again. She realized she was doing that a lot.

"Do I need a reason to help somepony?" She threw a smile back towards Derpy, who shook her head.

"I guess not." The silence that followed wasn't quite as stifling this time around. After what felt like a lifetime of walking, they came across a relatively small shop compared to the grand scale that is Canterlot. It specialized in accessories and clothing, but nothing as extravagantly expensive as the main clothing lines.

After they entered, it didn't take long for Yamano to pick out something appropriate. A purple partial headwrap, that left the hair untouched but would cover one eye when worn. She held it up to Derpy, who nodded enthusiastically. There was no debate after that, and it was soon purchased. They thanked the unicorn working the desk before they left and affixed the headwrap to Derpy.

Yamano smiled kindly, even if her eyes showed disappointment. "There we go. Now no pony will be able to tell. It should help your mind register what you're seeing better, too. More focus."

Derpy was ecstatic, and it showed. Her smile was a lot wider than before, and she could hardly contain herself from hopping in place. Her hopping had cut short, however, when she looked around. And realized that she had no idea where she was. "Could… Could I ask you something? Actually, a couple of things."

Yamano was intrigued. "Sure, what do you wanna know?" the blonde pegasus stopped and thought about what to ask for a short while, before turning to her escort.

"Well, first, what… what's your name? I never asked when we met."

Yamano was surprised. And then confused. And then amused. She facehoofed with a chuckle, before responding to the pegasus. "Yamano Sagiri. I'm from outside of Equestria." Derpy smiled.

"Well, Ya-… Yama-… uh… hrm. That's hard to say." Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she wrestled with the name in her mind.

"Take it slow, enunciate each part separately." Yamano added in quietly. '_I have to admit, I struggled when I first properly learnt what my name was._'

"Ya-ma-no... Ya-ma-no… Yama-no… Yamano. Did I get that right?" All she got in response was a nod.

"What was the other thing you wanted to ask?" Yamano asked with a raised eyebrow.

"…Where are we?" Yamano facehoofed. Again. Claw first.

* * *

Yamano and Derpy arrived quietly at the train station, but at the sight that met them, the guardian in question stopped dead in her tracks. Waiting by the platform, was what was obviously a guard captain. If only because the uniform he was wearing was grander than the two guards that accompanied him.

'_He must be Shining Armor.' _She turned to the pegasus accompanying her and spoke quietly. "Can you find your way to your delivery from here?"

Derpy nodded in silent confirmation, realizing that Yamano must have been quiet for a reason, and turned to walk down the main street to deliver her letter. The guardian watched her to make sure she didn't get into any immediate trouble, before turning and quietly walking up behind the guard captain in question. Deciding she wanted to have a little fun, she drew upon her training and made sure they had no idea she was behind them.

Quietly snatching up a loose stone, she tossed it up and over who she assumed to be Shining Armor, letting it drop directly in his field of view. Much to her amusement, they all turned their heads skyward, looking to find the assumed pegasus that had dropped the stone, and all put themselves on guard. She took a moment to examine how they had all reacted, and she didn't like what she had seen. They had all focused their gazes onto some perceived threat from above, none making sure to see if their immediate surroundings were safe.

She was disappointed.

The guardian cleared her throat to pull the attention of the guards in front of her, all of which whirled around faster than she had expected. She plastered a look of indifference on to her face as to not insult them immediately.

"I give you a six. You colts call yourselves guardsponies?" She muttered with a drawling bored tone. The trio looked stunned, before the stallion in the center re-situated his hooves and gave her a look of general annoyance.

"Well then, how would you have reacted, miss?" The guards captain, assumedly Shining Armor, asked.

"You all had your focus tunneled onto the skies. Granted, you reacted quickly, but keeping your eyes up like that made you vulnerable to ground assault. Two of you should have turned your gazes' outwards, for if the attacker from above possessed any level of intelligence, they would have dropped down behind you after the distraction. Kind of like I did, only I didn't have to fly to get the same effect. Hence the six." She listed off her reason with a speed comparable to Pinkie Pie, the obvious annoyance in her tone slowly showing itself on her features. She ended her rant with a slam of her claws into the floor, creating the painfully loud clang and scrape of metal against stone.

The two unicorn guards off to the sides looked down in shame, whereas Shining Armor looked off to the side in a huff. He muttered something under his breath, grabbing the attention of Yamano. "Did you say something, captain?"

He rolled his eyes. "Surely we weren't that bad."

Yamano's eye twitched. She drew dangerously close to the guard captain's face and her stare bored straight into his soul. "You didn't even attempt to grab your weapons, or throw up a shield, or anything. I was being generous with my evaluation, if you don't want it to get worse, change the subject."

Whether it was the tone in her voice, or the cold, soulless stare she was giving him, he could do little else but nod his head in fear.

The assassin turned guardian released a breath she was holding subconsciously. The pressure exerted onto Shining Armor evaporated immediately as she turned away from the captain. She spent a few moments calming herself down, before eventually turning back to the shaken-up guards behind her. She put on her best fake smile and started speaking in an obviously condescending tone.

"Greetings. I am Yamano Sagiri. I am the pony who will make this sorry excuse for a royal guard publicly acceptable and competent. Pleasure to meet you, 'Captain' Shining Armor."

The two guards off to his sides looked up quickly, their outrage written across their faces. They stepped forward to rebuttal her claims, but Shining Armor held up a hoof to stop them. He wasn't impressed, but he would remain professional.

"If that is everything, let's head to the barracks. I'm sure you wish to learn about our… practices." Yamano could read these ponies like open books. The two guards to each side seemed relatively young, inexperienced and were obviously unused to criticism. Shining Armor seemed wiser and more composed, which was a good start, but even so his emotions played across his face easily enough.

She shook her head in frustration. It wasn't that she wanted to psychoanalyze every pony to cross her path, but her training made it second nature. She decided to push those thoughts to the back of her mind before turning back to the captain. "Lead the way."

* * *

After arriving at the barracks, Shining Armor spent a long time going over each of the patrol routes and plans of action. The longer he went on, the further agitated Yamano became. She was spotting holes in the routes left and right, and the plans of action left little to be appreciated.

"How?! How have you not been invaded yet?! Are your enemies' cowards, or just plain stupid?!" Her voice carried out across the barracks like the walls didn't exist. Shining Armor covered his ears with his hooves until the ranting guardian settled down.

"They're afraid of the princesses. We haven't had the need of such _brilliant_ strategy because there are no enemies to strategize against." He turned and fixed his gaze upon Yamano. "And besides, what does an assassin like you care about our kingdom? About our subjects?"

The entire war room fell silent. Yamano turned to meet Shining's gaze with a glare of her own. "So, is that the reason why you have decided to write off my existence as an issue?" Shining's gaze turned into that of shock. "Don't be surprised, your thoughts are written clear as day on your face, anyone with a decent eye could see it."

Shining Armor's breathing quickened for a second, as his eyes burned with anger and fear simultaneously. The next words he said were more spat than spoken.

"My apologies that I don't trust you around my sister."

Yamano's eye twitched in impatience. She shook her head in resignation, before turning an eye at the insipid captain. "And which one is your sister then, Shining?"

"It's- hmph…" Shining took a few moments to calm down. "Twilight Sparkle."

Yamano raised an eyebrow and looked over Shining critically. "You two are siblings?" The longer she looked, the less she seemed to find in similarities. "I don't see it. Sorry." She turned her gaze back onto the map of Canterlot on the table in front of them. Shining Armor moved around to the other side of the table to get a view on what she was looking at but decided to stay quiet.

She stayed looking at the map for a long time. She spent so long it was almost time for the moon to rise. Shining Armor was getting worried, as her silence was so complete, he wasn't even sure she had a heartbeat. Suddenly, Yamano broke the silence with a loud sigh, causing Shining Armor to jump in fright.

"Have the guards split into four groups and have two of them patrol this route in shifts. Have the rest take the battlements in an offset shift to leave no period for infiltration." She shifted her gaze towards the captain. "And make sure they split the responsibility of keeping an eye on the sky, _and _the ground." She raised an eyebrow in a challenge towards Shining Armor. He shifted nervously in place, as a couple of the guards surrounding them started chuckling at the captain's misfortune.

"R-right. The sky and the ground."

There was a knock on the door to the war room. All at once, the amorous laughter of the guards vanished. Yamano glanced questioningly at the captain, who shrugged at the sudden intrusion. He beckoned to a nearby pegasus guard to open the door. The guard in question cracked the door open a sliver and gasped in shock as he pulled the door open fully.

"P-Princess Celestia! What brings you here?" The guard stood at attention as the princess in question let herself into the room. All at once, all the guards followed suit, and Yamano felt increasingly uncomfortable.

"Please, be at ease. I merely came to collect Yamano. There is something I wish to discuss with her." She sent a patient smile towards Yamano, who silently shifted and moved out of the door without a word. Shining Armor didn't take kindly to that.

"Hey! Show Princess Celestia some respect!" He was outraged at the prospect that someone could so blatantly disrespect the Princess of the Sun, and his voice showed. Yamano whipped her head around with a glare, but before she could retort, Celestia held up a hoof.

"Yamano, I shall meet you back at the castle. Shining Armor, do you not remember everything I have told you?" Shining Armors eyes widened at the sudden question. His eyes quickly switched between Celestia and Yamano, trying desperately to come up with something to say. He couldn't. "Yamano, do you mind if the other guards hear about the last two years? If you wish for that to remain confidential I shall refrain, but it may serve to alleviate some confusion, and possibly some suspicions as well."

Yamano merely rolled her eyes. "Sure, just let every pony in Equestria know about my life. Do what you want, it's not like I can stop you." She closed the door on the way out and headed off towards the castle. She chuckled to herself on her way as a thought crossed her mind.

'_I wonder how he would react if he found out I was living in his sister's basement…_'

* * *

"So, are you enjoying your new life in Ponyville?"

Yamano looked up from the admittedly delicious pancakes that were set out in front of her. "I suppose it could be worse. I could still be in Archades." She smirked as she jabbed a chunk of pancake with her fork. Luna was sitting across from them both, eyeing Yamano's claws. The way she used them in place of her magic both impressed and concerned her.

"If you do not mind Our asking, why is it that you do not use thine magic? Surely it would make thine life easier if you used levitation." Yamano turned slightly and raised an eyebrow at Luna. She shrugged, before responding.

"Because I can't. I haven't an ounce of arcane magic in my entire being." She turned back to her pancakes, completely missing the raised eyebrows of Luna. She took another mouthful of pancakes before speaking again. "So how are you Luna? Have you recovered much?"

Luna didn't respond right away. It wasn't much of a pause, but it was enough to grab Yamano's attention. Despite this, Luna still tried to answer. "It has been slow going. Physically speaking, yes, We have recovered, but We fear that Our mind may take a while longer to heal."

Yamano froze at her confession. She placed her fork back onto her plate and turned her gaze towards Luna, but instead of looking directly at her, she stared off past the princess to the wall behind her. She started muttering under her breath. Luna tried to grasp what she was saying, but she was speaking so quietly she could hardly hear. She managed to grab one sentence, however.

"...At least you will be able to heal…" Apparently Celestia heard her as well, as both princesses stopped mid motion, although it seemed Celestia was not as shocked as Luna. Yamano shook her head in frustration and stood up to leave. "I've lost my appetite. Thank you for your hospitality, but I should be leaving." She headed forcefully towards the door to the dining room they were in and reached to pull it open.

"Yamano, wait a moment please." Yamano stopped with her claws resting on the handle of the door.

"What?" She didn't even glance back at the princess who had interrupted her.

"I have had a guest room set up for your stay. Please, use that room until tomorrow, as I am sure you would love to be able to see where you are going if you were to return to Ponyville in the same manner you arrived in Canterlot." Yamano finally turned back to look at Celestia, who was showing a patient smile. Her eyes twitched over towards Luna, who was in the process of rolling her own eyes.

"Fine, fine… It's not like I'll be sleeping tonight anyways." She turned back and walked out the door, heading to where she remembered the guest chambers were on the map she was studying with Shining Armor. 'If I had the option I'd never sleep again.'

Yamano exited the room with a slam of the door. After she had walked down the hallway and out of earshot, Celestia let out a long sigh. She turned back to her half-eaten pancakes and started prodding them with her fork. Luna stood up to stand next to her sister.

"Is there something wrong, sister?" Luna asked quietly. There was sorrow written across Celestia's features.

"I merely wish that there was something I could do for her. She has experienced so much pain and heartbreak, comparable to my own even with a thousand years advantage. And yet she shuts others out, not giving herself a chance to get help." Celestia released another sigh before turning to her sister. "If she does fall asleep tonight, could you please speak with her?"

Luna turned her gaze from her sister, to the barely touched pancakes that belonged to Yamano, and then to the door she had left through. She closed her eyes and nodded. "I will speak with her. Whether she sleeps or not."

* * *

Yamano had decided to rest on the bed in the guest room, but her thoughts kept blasting through her mind as fast as Rainbow Dash on a good day. As she stared at the ceiling, she tried to readjust her focus to the hoof steps passing by her door every now and then. Sometimes it was two sets, sometimes three, all of which were accompanied by the telltale rattling of slightly loose-fitting armor. Two, then three, then two, then none, then four, then two.

She shook her head to get her focus off the guardsponies that seemed to be patrolling around her door far more than they should, and instead went to the desk tucked into the corner of her room. She grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill and an ink pot and set to work drawing out some blueprints for an invention she had been working on. She felt like she was getting close to finishing it, but part of the invention required magic that she didn't have access to. Instead of trying to find a workaround, she worked to see if she could decrease the total weight of the device. She was proud of her claws that she made, but this project would be even grander.

This went on for a few minutes, before her focus was disrupted by a knock on the door. She placed the quill back onto the desk, before shifting in her seat to be partially facing the door.

"Enter, it's open." Before the door even opened, she could tell it was at least a unicorn that was entering, if the magic aura that appeared around the handle said anything. She was about to look past the door when her eyes caught on the colour of the aura. It was a night blue. '_But… night blue would mean_-'

Sure enough, the door opened to reveal Luna on the other side. Yamanos eyes widened in realization, before she regained her composure, put her borrowed quill back in the inkwell, and rolled up the blueprints. She side-eyed Luna before speaking. "Can I help you, Luna?"

Instead of berating her for disrespect, or demanding answers, or anything of the sort that would be expected from royalty, Luna closed the door behind her and looked out the window, almost as if she was looking for something to say. Yamano followed her gaze, only to realize that night had already arrived. She guessed that Luna must still feel lonely during the nights, what with everypony, including her sister, sleeping through them. Yamano smirked to herself, shook her head and moved to sit on the bed. After she had settled herself, she pointed to the chair she was once sitting on with a claw.

"Sit." Luna looked at Yamano with shock, and her eyes glanced between the guardian and the claw. Yamano rolled her eyes. "Sit. You obviously want to say something."

Luna stayed frozen for a moment. Then started to take a step, hesitated, tried again, and finally managed to walk over to the chair. Luna's gaze shifted into a slight glare.

"How?" Yamano tilted her head in confusion. "How are you so readily able to throw the title of princess, or the history of a monster out of the window so fast?"

Before Yamano spoke, she smiled a bit at the accidental confession, although Luna didn't seem to pick up on it. "It's simple. I am more of a monster than you can ever be, or have ever been, and the only royalty of any kind that I have interacted with for a long time was a tyrannical lunatic with a penchant for slaughtering the innocent and torturing his subjects. Either I treat you like any old pony, or I treat you like I would myself or him. I don't think you would enjoy the latter." She fell onto her back, looking up towards the ceiling, and reached up with her right hoof. "I have no reason to scorn you, so I don't. The way I see it, the only one who hasn't even tried to forget about Nightmare Moon is… you."

She let her hoof drop and turned her head to look Luna in the eye. The Princess shifted uncomfortably under the gaze, and her eyes dropped to the floor. She let out a long sigh and stood up from her place on the chair. "I understand what you are trying to say, but it isn't that easy."

Before Luna could continue, she was cut off by a tired chuckle from Yamano. "It isn't, huh?" She shook her head before elaborating. "Since when did I say it was easy? In my eyes, there is nothing that could ever be considered 'easy'. Sometimes even breathing can be a hassle." Yamano sat back up and stretched out her back. "But, nothing has to be easy to help another." The change of pace of the conversation caught Luna by surprise as she tried to figure out how to respond, but she was never given a chance as Yamano continued. "The whole point of living for others is that you take the hardships upon yourself. I wouldn't have things any other way. So no, forgiving yourself won't be easy. But you will most likely do a much better job at it than I ever could. After all, I still haven't forgiven myself either, even if it is mostly _his_ fault." As Yamano finished her small speech, Luna couldn't stifle a chuckle. When Yamano looked to ask what was so funny, she was instead interrupted.

"It would seem my own point I wished to bring up was instead used upon me." The princess shrugged. "Maybe I need more help than you, yet I still think you could use it."

Yamano failed to keep her discontented grunt from escaping, but after it had left her, she ran with it. "I believe every pony could use some help. It's just a matter of figuring out what help they need."

The princess gave a long, tired sigh as she regarded the troubled guardian in front of her. "What help do you need, then?" Yamano was silent. When Luna realized she wasn't going to get an answer, she tried again. "Surely you must know what has to be done to help you?"

Her response shook Luna to her core. "It is extremely likely that there is nothing. I'm probably cursed to be like this forever." She lightly shook her head to rid herself of that train of thought. "Enough about me, Luna… I'm not worth the trouble. Besides, don't you have work to do?"

Luna sat in silence for a while, staring at Yamano with a calculating gaze, until she finally gave up and started to stand. "Very well, I suppose I should begin my duties. Sleep well."

As she turned to walk out of the room, she jumped at the sudden noise of Yamano getting off the bed. She turned back when Yamano placed a clawed hoof on her shoulder.

"Would you like some company for tonight? I probably won't be sleeping for a few days." Yamano's voice had quietened significantly. Luna took a moment to consider, before sighing.

"That… would be appreciated."

* * *

The unlikely duo walked through the empty streets of a night cloaked Canterlot in calm silence. With the absence of the sun's light, much of the architecture reminded Yamano of the dull buildings of Archades. This would have unsettled her if it wasn't for the grander stature of the tall Canterlot structures. Every now and then, her focus was ripped from her intended targets by the ethereally shimmering mane of Luna, that seemed to move on its own even without a breeze. She noted a similar effect from Celestia and decided to follow up this train of thought.

"Hey, Luna, why is it that your mane moves on its own like that?" She tried to ask quietly, but with how eerily silent an empty street could be, her voice carried over and cut through the air with far more intensity than she intended. It didn't seem to faze the Princess, however, who merely turned her head to respond.

"It is merely something that my sister invented to make herself seem more regal. It involves a small amount of magic, and after enough use it simply became second nature to do it. It is by no means permanent." As if to prove her point, she let her mane fall back to its natural state, the shining sparks that mimicked the stars in the sky vanishing in leu of her far more normal looking periwinkle colour. Yamano raised an eyebrow and spent a few moments in silence regarding the princess.

"You know, you look better without the magic mane." Apparently, Luna was not expecting such a compliment, as she spent the next while stumbling over her words. Yamano smirked before continuing. "So, does Celestia actually have an aurora coloured mane then?"

The out was exactly what Luna needed to regain her composure. "No. No she doesn't. It is normally a fairly bright pink." Yamano stopped immediately, blinking in shock. Luna hid a smirk as the guardian wrestled with the information.

"S-So you're telling me, that the 'esteemed Princess of the Sun'… dyes her hair with magic?" Yamano tried in vain to wrap her head around it, before finally giving up and flopping onto her stomach, holding her claws on her head. "You've gotta be kidding me… Sure if it was Rarity, I might have expected it but Celestia?! I-… Ok that does it, Equestria is freaking weird." Luna failed to stifle a giggle at the sudden display.

"She has always been a little… eccentric." Luna whispered playfully towards Yamano. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but the pancakes she makes always have silly faces on top, too." The ex-assassin let out a sudden cackle and started rolling slightly in continued laughter.

"I- I thought it looked a little odd." Yamano finally started to settle down and stumbled her way back onto her hooves. "Still, you surprise me, Luna." The princess's head tilted to the side in confusion. "I wouldn't have expected you to be a botanist. Good idea on the lavender." Yamano moved ahead of Luna and decided to get a better vantage point to overlook Canterlot. She deftly climbed a nearby building, using her claws to find a better grip onto the face of the wall. Luna flew up after her, coming to rest not far from the guardian.

They both sat in silence for a while, staring at the night sky. After a little while, Yamano shifted slightly and dismissed the garb she never seemed to go without and allowed her wings to spread and catch what little breeze remained during the night. She closed her eyes to allow her mind to focus on every sensation, even the shivers sent through her when the breeze hit the sensitive skin of her scars. She traced the fresh scar that adorned her side with a claw, and the feeling caused her to shudder. She let out a hollow laugh after a short while.

"The first time in years I get to just enjoy the night, and I spend it reminiscing over my scars." As if to prove her point, she shifted to allow a full view of all her scars. Her scarred wings, the scarred leg, and now the twisted knot of recently healed flesh that was the remnants of the manticore sting. A small silence fell over the two of them, which was broken soon after by Luna.

"Do thine scars not cause discomfort?" The princess asked quietly. Yamano turned to Luna with a raised brow.

"They do. Some days are worse than others, especially with the new addition." She gestured to her side. "Nothing I won't be able to handle though." She let a small smile play across her face as she turned her gaze up to the stars. "At least I have something I can do with my life now." She threw a slight stare towards the moon princess, with a tired expression on her face. "I take it that wasn't your only question?"

Luna hesitated for a moment. It was slight, but it was just enough for Yamano to notice it. "We suppose… We wish to know how you are so strong." Yamano tensed up and froze, not that Luna had noticed. "It is obvious you have been through much, yet you still seem to march on as if nothing had happened. We wish to know how you do it… in hopes that We might be able to do the same." Yamanos eyes fell to the roof they were sitting on, and she refused to speak for a few minutes. When she finally turned back to Luna in order to speak, her eyes gave no sign of emotion, even if her voice did.

"If that's what you think I've done, then you do not know strength when you see it." She met Luna's concerned gaze; brow furrowed in fear. "It's simply a matter of I ignore it, or I break. I look forward, searching desperately for something to make things right, or I look back, tearing down my soul from the inside. If I lose focus for even a minute, it will be like I was still a small filly, scared of the darkness." She shook her head. "I help others because it distracts my mind from looking at myself. That is why it seems like nothing has happened. It is not strength. In fact, it is very much cowardice that drives me." She shifted to lie down and stare upwards, shifting her eyes slightly towards the princess. "Sorry if that wasn't the answer you were looking for."

Much to the guardians' surprise, Luna giggled at her apology. "Do not apologize. I… suppose I was asking too much." Yamano raised an eyebrow.

"You forgot the royal 'we'." Yamano couldn't help but smirk.

Luna blinked, before an embarrassed smile started to creep across her features. "I suppose I did."

"You look better with a smile!" A new voice sounded from Yamanos left, spooking her and causing her to tumble from the roof they were sitting on. She landed hard, bouncing a couple of times on her way down, before finally coming to rest on the street.

"Wh- I- what the heck was that?!" She took a moment to register what voice it was. When it finally clicked, she let out a pained sigh. "PINKIE!" With her newfound fury, she painfully flew back up to the roof and fixed the pink annoyance with a glare. "What's the big idea, Pinkie?! I'm not in the mood for your… your… reality defying antics! Shouldn't you be asleep or something?" Her eyes twitched between Pinkie and Luna, the latter of which looked just as shocked as she felt. When her eyes settled back on the pink menace, all she could see was confusion. '_Why is SHE confused?_' Yamano sighed to release the tension built up in her, and her voice softened. "Can I help you Pinkie?"

Pinkie tilted her head for a second, before shaking it. "Nope! Well, I came here to ask you something but that isn't important right now. I didn't know you had wings!" She bounced up to the guardian with a big smile plastered across her face. Her smile faltered and her bounce ceased when she saw the condition they were in. "Oh. Err…" She looked between Yamano and Luna. "I interrupted something didn't I?"

Yamano looked slightly towards Luna and raised an eyebrow with an unspoken question. Luna shook her head in response. "It was nothing too important Pinkie, it's fine. You wanted to ask me something?"

"I… Yes, I did! Although, now I do have a couple more questions, but this question is the important question! It might be one of the most important questions to have ever questioned!" Yamano blinked as the anomaly continued. "When's your birthday?"

The guardian froze. She stood there for a long time. A really long time. Eventually she sighed again and sat down on the roof. "You… you spooked me into falling off a roof, just to ask me about my birthday?" Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. "February first, why?"

Pinkie looked to be about to say something but hesitated as she thought about something. She tapped her hoof to her chin, before the correlation finally hit her. "Huh. That's the same day as Rainbow Dash's birthday." Her grin returned. "I can't exactly throw you a birthday party if I don't know when your birthday is, silly!" Yamanos eye twitched.

"I… I suppose I'll be looking forward to it then." Pinkie smiled again and looked to be going to leave. Yamano stopped her with a claw. "Pinkie, listen to me."

"Yep?" Pinkie tilted her head again.

Yamano drilled her stare right into Pinkies eyes, who started to shift uncomfortably under the gaze. "The only ponies you can discuss with about my wings are Applejack and Rarity, and only in private. They don't know that the other knows, but it must be kept a secret from the rest of our friends for now. Understand?" Pinkies face fell into a grin and she started bouncing in place.

"Oh, don't worry about it! I'm great at keeping secrets. I hereby Pinkie Promise to never tell anypony!" She made a few odd motions while reciting something, ending with her hoof over her eye. "Cross my heart, and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

Yamano froze. Not intentionally. She blinked. Twice. Thrice. And then slowly, but surely, a low groan emanated from her lips. "How have you managed to double the syllables on what SHOULD be a simple and short swear to fealty." She shook her head with another groan. "I suppose it'll do." Her eyes twitched to meet Pinkie Pie's. "Is anything… interesting going on in Ponyville at the moment?" She found a more comfortable position to sit as she waited for the response.

Somehow, Pinkie's grin widened further. "Weeelll…" She drew the word out longer with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Princess Celestia gave Twilight two tickets to the grand galloping gala, all of our friends found out somehow, we all tried to give her extra favors in an attempt to get her to give the extra one to us, the rest of the town found out, they all chased her around town and she only just managed to escape and collapse in exhaustion." She chuckled for a second. "Figured I wasn't helping by staying around so I decided to come see you about your birthday. And so here I am!"

The next reaction caught even Pinkie Pie off guard. It wasn't annoyance, it wasn't surprise, but it was still recognizable. Resignation. With a sigh, she turned her gaze to the, now confused, princess of the night. "Luna, it appears I must converse with your sister once more. There is something I must… remedy." The princess in question seemed to hesitate to remove her gaze from the pink distraction yet managed the feat anyway.

"It would be prudent to let her sleep, much as it pains to say as such. She did spend a thousand years with little rest, after all." Yamano nodded along with the statement.

"Oh… Pinkie. Allow me to tell you something." Yamano hardened her gaze. '_A little harsher than I would wish, but it will have to do_.'

"Yeah? What? Is it a secret?" Pinkie tilted her head with her questions. Yamano turned her harsh stare onto the pink menace.

"Don't. Ever. Sneak up on me. _Ever._" As her gaze tightened, Pinkies lips and eyes twitched in an attempt not to let her smile waver. It didn't last long.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spook you…" She let her eyes fall to the roof they were sitting on. The downtrodden expression and slightly deflated hair started to get to the guardian as she-

'_WAIT wait wait… her hair DEFLATED?!... What the heck even IS she?!_' Yamano could feel herself starting to hyperventilate in mental pursuit of answers. She shook her head. And again, more violently. Once clarity had been re-obtained, she managed to carefully look back at the… veritable enigma sitting in front of her.

"Relax, Pinkie. I know you didn't mean to. It's just a bit of a warning." Yamano waved a hoof in dismissal. "If you're planning on heading back to Ponyville then stick around for a while. I'll head back with you in the morning."

The sudden subject change seemed to have the desired effect, as Pinkie managed to bounce back. Even if her smile wasn't _quite_ as wide as usual. "Oki doki loki! I don't mind staying longer!" Yamano nodded in resignation, and Pinkie started to bounce away.

Until she froze.

In mid-air.

Yamano needed a break.

"I don't have anywhere to sleep." Pinkie chuckled sheepishly as the realization came to light. Yamano stared at the pink being standing in front of her.

'_Make that aberration. The hay…?_' She shook the thought from her head. "Don't worry about that, I know somewhere you can sleep." The guardian turned to look at Luna. "I… I'll be back in a moment."

"Of course. Sleep well, miss…?" Luna shifted to gaze at the intruding pony.

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" Said pony responded immediately with another face-splitting grin. She started bouncing off towards a random direction before Luna had a chance to respond.

"Pinkie." Yamano stated sternly as she snatched out with a claw to grab her tail, keeping her in place even with her incessant bouncing. "We're headed to the castle." Pinkie stopped her bouncing abruptly, before continuing in the general direction of the castle. Yamano let go of the earth pony's tail, and sent a slightly pained look towards the princess, who returned the gesture with an ill-concealed giggle.

* * *

Upon reaching the guest room Yamano was staying in, Pinkie weightlessly bounced off the guardians back as she hopped onto the end of the bed. The guardian in question sat back down at the desk and re-opened the blueprints she had started earlier. As the desk was at the foot of the bed, Pinkie craned her head over to see what the dual horned alicorn was doing. She spotted something on the design that caught her interest.

"If you move that further up, and move that to the left, you could halve the material needed for this section." The ever-present happy tone in her voice forcefully ripped Yamanos concentration away from her, but the idea the pink enigma posed stuck with her. She quickly redrew the blueprints with the suggestion in mind.

"That… And then if I just…" Her brows furrowed in pure concentration as the pieces seemed to just fall into place. She looked at Pinkie and quirked an eyebrow. "Since when were you a prodigy in engineering?" Pinkies smile widened further, much to Yamanos confusion.

"I'm the only party planner in Ponyville! I learnt a little bit to make some super fun contraptions and machines for making the best parties ever!" Pinkie let out a yawn before she continued. "Besides, I made this thing!" As she finished, she reached into her mane and pulled out… a cannon?

'_Why does she have a cannon?!_' Was the first thought that ran through Yamanos mind. Before a certain detail finally went noticed. '_HOW DID SHE KEEP A CANNON BIGGER THAN SHE IS IN HER MANE!?_'

Before Yamanos eyes could widen further, Pinkie let out an amused chuckle. "This is my party cannon! At the press of a button, or the lighting of a fuse, depending on how I feel that day, a party can be instantly set up!" She started bouncing lightly on the back of the cannon.

"That… That makes more sense than HOW YOU EVEN GOT IT HERE! It… it came out of your mane, that much I'm certain of. But how?!"

The smile on Pinkies face faltered for a brief moment as she thought about how to explain it, before an idea struck her square in the head. "It's like a pocket dimension!"

Yamano stared on.

For a long time.

"…A pocket dimension."

"Yep!" Pinkies smile was steadily falling as she thought about that answer. It didn't seem very good.

Of course, Pinkie isn't the only enigma.

"…Alright." The guardian shrugged apathetically. She moved her eyes to gaze upon the ridiculousness that was Pinkie Pie. "In that case I'd like to test something."

Pinkies smile returned alongside a tilt of the head. "What?"

Yamano could feel a smirk trying to pull at the corner of her lips but forced herself to remain remotely professional. She channeled her dark magic to summon her scythe in front of her, before grabbing it out of the air and handing it over shaft first towards Pinkie. "Put this in the pocket dimension and let's test to see if I can summon it out." Pinkie raised an eyebrow, but her smile remained.

"You don't seem as surprised as I thought you'd be!" She stated through giggling.

Yamano couldn't help but laugh along with the party pony. "When your magic is split in half, perfectly specialized into two opposing elements that when mixed create something akin to a world devouring alternate universe, not much can surprise me."

The sheer strangeness of that last statement even caught Pinkie off guard. After the statement had properly worked its way through her brain, her smile doubled in width and she started laughing harder. "That, *heh*, that's fair." She reached out and took the scythe in her hooves, before stuffing it into the pocket dimension hiding in her mane. "Okay! Ready!"

"Alright… Here goes." Yamano channeled her dark magic again, intending to summon the scythe back to her side. '_Something feels different_.' She thought to herself. She channeled more of her magic into her horn, yet nothing was changing. She tried harder and harder, until the strain became too much to bear, and let the spell fall away.

"What happened?" Pinkies brows furrowed in concern as Yamano started to massage her new headache.

"It seems my magic is cut off from my scythe when it's in your mane. Interesting." She shook her head to rid herself of the ache, before allowing an amused smirk to grace her features. "You keep getting weirder and more interesting by the day, Pinkie." The pony in question started breaking down in a light fit of giggles, before recomposing herself as much as she could.

"Gimme a sec, I'll get it back out." Pinkie reached a hoof into her mane, rummaging around to find the scythe in question. As Yamano waited, she turned her attention back towards the blueprints resting on the table.

"So now that the design has been sorted, now I need to figure out how to get the enchantments I need… maybe I- no, that couldn't…" She rested her chin on her hooves as she thought. Her concentration was shattered by Pinkie, however.

"Gah! Ow!" The startled yelp of pain from the party pony sent alarms off throughout Yamanos mind, and her eyes snapped to rest upon her.

"What? What happened?" She stood up and closed the distance between them as Pinkie pulled her hoof out of her mane. She had a cut just above her hoof, barely noticeable due to how thin it was, but it was a long cut.

"I found your scythe. I… I missed." Pinkie cringed as small beads of blood started pooling at the ends of the cut. She pushed the wound to her lips and licked it, before coughing at the metallic tasting blood. Yamano suddenly batted her hoof away from her mouth and immediately re-summoned her usual garb, before tearing off the sleeve on her left fore-leg. She used it as an emergency bandage, and after making sure it was securely tied and covering the wound, she looked back up to Pinkies face.

"Sorry. It… it's sharp. Really sharp. I make sure to keep it well maintained, but I didn't expect that to happen." Her eyes fell to the floor as the thought sunk in, and she started to massage the bridge of her nose with her claws. Pinkie, despite the pain her hoof was now in, smiled again.

"It's fine! It was my fault; I could have been more careful." Pinkie made to put her other hoof back into her mane, but Yamano grabbed it and stopped her.

"I'll do it, don't want you getting hurt again." Pinkie raised an eyebrow, before shrugging and pulling at her mane to make the surface area larger.

"Hop in!" Pinkie beamed a bright smile, but Yamano could see in her eyes that she was a little worried. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind though.

"Right. Be back in a moment." She pushed a hoof into pinkies mane, felt that she was in fact going through, and jumped the rest of the way in, vanishing from the room.

* * *

The first thing Yamano could register was the feel of the transportation. It felt like a mountain being pushed through a pinprick. That thought was thrown immediately to the wayside by the view that met her when the transportation stopped. Everything was bright like a mid-summer day, with tall grass surrounding a lone hill, with a lone tree. She caught a few glimpses of various items held within this pocket dimension but failed to grasp any details before she realized there was no air to breath.

'_CRAP!_' She screamed in her mind as she held her breath. Her eyes started flitting over each item she could see, before her eyes fell upon her scythe. It was partially embedded in the island in the center, so she ran forwards as fast as she could allow without being forced to exhale. Once she reached it, she grabbed it and ripped it out of the island, and out of habit attempted to dismiss it. She mentally scolded herself for forgetting that her magic wouldn't let it travel out of the pocket dimension they were in.

Until the scythe disappeared anyway.

'_That's not supposed to happen_.' Her hooves froze in place as she considered what just happened. Testing a theory, she tried to summon it again.

And it appeared. The scythe appeared next to her as if nothing had happened.

'_So apparently I can store it WITH me now_.' She considered the ramifications of her newfound knowledge, until the screaming burn of lungs without air brought her attention back to reality. Once again dismissing her scythe, she ran back towards where she first entered and could just barely see a hint of pink. Pinkie seemingly had stuck her hoof into the pocket dimension, so she ran forwards and grabbed hold.

At once, Pinkie pulled with all her might, and brought Yamano out of the pocket dimension. There was a loud crash that echoed through the halls of the castle as she collided with the desk at the other end of the room. At the newfound presence of air, she drew in huge gasps to fill her lungs with oxygen.

Pinkie noticed the newfound obsession with the air and raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" Yamano started quickly nodding before trusting herself to speak. When her breathing had normalized, she responded.

"That pocket dimension doesn't have air in it. At all." She shakily got back up onto her hooves, before collapsing back into the chair that she had almost overturned. At once Pinkie was next to her, anxiety clear on her face. Yamano shook her head before responding. "Discovered something new though."

The worry that had crept into Pinkies expression dulled slightly. "What'd you find?"

She couldn't help but smile at the thought. "I once thought I summon my scythe through space. Turns out that when I dismiss it, I don't send it to a specified place in the world, but instead store it… don't ask me where or how though, I just do it." She stretched as her muscles started to get refreshed with oxygen. She shook her head again. "Not that it matters."

Pinkie giggled; the worry that had plagued her finally started to dissipate. "So, you have your scythe?" The only response she got was a simple nod. "That's good."

The guardian tilted her head at a thought that crossed her mind. "If it wasn't for the lack of air, that pocket dimension could be really useful for a lot of things. Say a travelling companion gets exhausted, you could house them in there while they rested while not losing much time at all." She brought a claw to her chin. "Maybe I could ask Twilight if there's a spell that could help with that."

She was greeted by the sudden appearance of a visage of Pinkie Pie staring at her point blank as she turned. She inched her face away from the sudden intrusion but kept her gaze to meet Pinkies. "…Can I help you?"

Pinkie's eyes were narrowed in concentration and consideration as they jumped about from place to place on the confused guardian. When she couldn't find what she was looking for, her posture went back to normal as she shrugged. "I was just checking to see if anything weird happened to you. It might be my imagination, but you seemed happier after… well, that whole thing."

As Yamano tried to respond, her breath caught. '_Happier? Me?_' She shook her head. '_I don't get happy. I'm not ALLOWED to be happy_.' Her forlorn eyes turned down to the ground as she held her head in her claws. She bashed herself on the head to rid herself of those thoughts, before turning her attention towards why Pinkie Pie would have thought that in the first place.

'_Was it my enthusiasm? That is a possibility._' The pain on her features melted away as she considered her previous reactions. Eventually she started voicing her thoughts without realizing. "It must have been when I started theorizing on uses for the-"

"Equestria to Yamano? Helloooo?" Pinkie waved a hoof in front of Yamanos eyes to snap her out of her trance. She blinked a few times before turning back to the party pony.

"Sorry, I… don't find much to be happy about anymore. I just wanted to figure out why you would have thought that." She shrugged off the issue before turning back towards the desk. "You should get some sleep. We'll probably be leaving pretty early tomorrow."

Pinkie raised an eyebrow at Yamanos dismissive behavior, before she herself shrugged and settled down on the bed, falling asleep almost immediately. The guardian looked over her newly completed blueprints, and finally let her head collide with the desk, taking a little bit of care not to slam her horn against it.

* * *

Yamano had left early the next day to make sure she could catch Celestia in the throne room before day court started. She was still planning on having a word with the whimsical princess about the 'test' she had given Twilight. So when she came face to face with Luna just outside of the door, she struggled to think on how to handle the situation. Luckily, it seemed Luna had not been caught as unaware as Yamano.

"So, you have decided to try to intercept my sister before Day court begins, yes?" Luna asked in a soft tone. It seemed the nights previous discussion had settled some nerves the princess of the night had held.

"That was the plan, yeah. There were a couple of things that I needed to speak to her about." Yamano paused for a moment, before continuing. "One of those matters may in fact be able to be solved by you, however." She started nodding to herself, before turning her eyes upwards to face back to Luna. "How are your skills in enchanting?"

The princess in question raised an eyebrow at the sudden inquiry. "I have fallen out of touch with recent forms of enchantments, but when it came to imbuing something with runes, I was unmatched."

Something sparked in Yamanos eyes as a few ideas started working their way through her mind. She started shifting her gaze rapidly, as if there were something within her vision that was moving erratically. When her eyes finally settled, they were looking into Luna's eyes.

"Runes would be perfect. In fact, it would work so much greater than what I was considering initially." A toothy grin started spreading across her face. She eventually reached a hoof into a pocket in her outfit and pulled out the blueprints she had finished with Pinkies help. "I have the details for what I need each part to do, if you could have a look and see what runes would fill the correct needs, that'd be incredible."

Luna pulled the blueprints from the guardians grasp with telekinesis, and opened them to have a look, before rubbing her eyes with a hoof and scowling. "I shall look at it later, right this second I am extremely tired." She turned and opened the door with another magic grip, and walked through the empty throne room, before turning back and looking at Yamano. "My sister would be where we had pancakes yesterday. And of course, she is most likely preparing pancakes once more."

Yamano couldn't help but hear the bitterness in Luna's tone, but she decided to skirt around that topic. She ended up following the princess to the small dining room they had been in before. Luna walked through the room to a door towards the opposite side that opened to a corridor that lead in the general direction of her room, as Yamano walked towards the small kitchen that was adjoined opposite to said door. She peeked her head around the corner to get a better view of the kitchen to see if Celestia was there, and what she saw made her trip over her own hooves.

Celestia was there, of course, preparing pancakes as Luna predicted. What caught Yamano off guard, however, was the fact that Celestia was talking and laughing along with Pinkie Pie, who herself had made a stack of pancakes twice as tall as the one Celestia had made. She was certain that Pinkie Pie was still asleep in bed as she left, so to see her up and about cooking of all things didn't sit right in her mind. So far it seemed Yamano had gone unnoticed, so she decided to see if she could sneak up on them. Stepping as lightly as she could, she managed to close the distance between herself and her 'targets', but she hesitated when she could hear their conversation.

"…-and then its tail lashed out at her!"

"Oh my. That must have been terrifying."

"Yeah, it was. It got even scarier when Yamano jumped in front of her! She ended up getting stung and I didn't know what to do!" Pinkie shuddered at those words.

"But she is still up and about today. What happened?" Celestia's head tilted slightly to the side in a much more juvenile fashion than Yamano would have expected.

"She-… She took charge of the group even through the pain. She sent each of us off to prepare certain things and find a special flower. Apparently, it's a super powerful antivenom." Pinkie let out a quiet chuckle. "That entire situation is why she has claws on her hooves now though. She explained to me some time after the fact, she fused them into her hooves to scratch at her leg to focus her pain into something easier to manage."

Having had enough of her eavesdropping, Yamano decided to speak up. "I needed to do something, else I would have died right there and then. Rather be a scarred mess than a cadaver." She surprised them greatly, so she took the moment she had to check Pinkies hoof. Before the party pony could react, she lightly took the strip of cloth from her hoof and checked the cut. "It's healing well. You heal fast, even for a pony." And she meant it. It was in the stage after having scabbed, where the skin was mostly healed and only slightly discolored. She ended up pocketing the cloth used as the bandage to dispose of it later. "We should let it air out; it'll heal better that way. Luckily it won't scar."

Celestia gasped once the situation finally registered in her mind. "How did you get injured?"

Both ponies froze at the question. They shared a glance, looked at the floor, looked back, before finally deciding what to do. Pinkie started off with a nervous chuckle while Yamano tapped a claw on the floor. Before Yamano could explain, Pinkie started for her.

"We ran an experiment and it didn't go quite how we expected." She scratched shyly at the back of her head, as Yamano picked up the pieces.

"Pinkie here has a pocket dimension within her mane, so we ran an experiment on both the pocket dimension and the dark half of my magic. It turned out I couldn't summon my scythe from within that pocket dimension, so when she tried to fish it back out, she accidentally caught her hoof on the blade. Hence the cut. I ended up jumping in and getting it out myself, which is when I found out exactly how my magic interacts with my scythe, but not before discovering that the pocket dimension doesn't have an atmosphere." She waved a hoof in dismissal. "Besides, Pinkie is fine, it's nothing serious. What IS serious is the situation you have put Twilight in." This time it was Celestia who hesitated.

The Princess of the Sun was quick to recover however, as she adopted a slightly mischievous smile. "Whatever do you mean?"

Yamano was having none of it. "You know exactly what I mean. I don't know if this is a test, or a lesson, or just your childish nature, but you have forced Twilight into an impossible position. From what Pinkie Pie has told me, you have only given her two tickets to this… Grand Galloping Gala. And yet she has six friends. Now, I'm a non-factor because I couldn't care less about this stupid event, but that still leaves her with five ponies to choose from." She tensed the claws in her right hoof into a fist, before lightly tapping it erratically on the ground in frustration. "Now, say she chose just one of her friends. That would leave four ponies disappointed or upset. Which, might I say, would tear Twilight apart. Now, if she gave her ticket to someone else, then two of her friends would be able to go, and yet she would inevitably become jealous, and it would still leave three of her friends feeling as she does. Now I'm sure you know what that means for somepony like Twilight, but it is highly likely that she just sends the two tickets back and refuses to attend, just because not all of her friends are able to join her."

She shook her head as she forced her voice to normalize. "So if you could just stop skirting around the issue and do what you are probably already planning, and give her some extra tickets, that'd be appreciated." As her breathing settled, she finally allowed herself to look at Celestia. She had her eyebrows raised, but she didn't seem especially surprised about her choice of words. She released the tension in her claws, as she felt the metal about to warp under the pressure. Pinkie walked up to whisper something in her ear.

"_I already told Twilight I didn't want the ticket anymore.__ I saw how sad the choice was making her and guessed she'd be happier if she had less to choose from._" Pinkie donned a small smile as a smirk forced its way onto Yamano's features. The guardian responded in a barely audible murmur.

"_Thank you._" As she turned her eyes back towards Celestia, she went from grateful to annoyed incredibly quickly. The mischievous grin hadn't left the princess's features. She felt her eye twitch. "What's so amusing, Celestia?" Her words were further emphasized by a well-timed head tilt from Pinkie.

Instead of responding right away, Celestia grabbed something from out of Yamano's eyesight with her magic and brought it to her. It was a scroll, neatly wrapped in another ribbon, sealed with wax, ready to be sent off. Her smile grew ever so slightly as she regarded it and turned her eyes back to the frustrated guardian. "I suppose you caught me red hoofed, Yamano. I already have my response planned out. I am merely waiting for Twilight to send her own letter."

Yamano's head fell to look at the floor, before turning back with a furrowed brow. "Of course you are, you-"

The conversation was cut short by one of the doors to the room opening, and a rolled-up scroll getting thrown towards Yamano. Without even looking, she held up a hoof and caught it in her claws, before glancing at the scroll. It was the same scroll she had drawn her blueprints on. She shook her head with an amused smile on her face. "Thanks Luna!" All she got in response was a tired grunt and the slamming of the door. Once the sound of the door had stopped echoing, Yamano opened the scroll to see what suggestions Luna had. Quick sketches of various runes were drawn next to each part of her design, and it even came with a set of instructions on how to apply the runes and in what order to do so. After rolling the blueprints back up, she stashed it away, before being interrupted by Celestia clearing her throat. Freezing in mid motion, she turned her head to look back at the princess. "Yes?"

Her response was spoken while she tried to bite back a chuckle. "What was that all about?"

Yamano rolled her eyes. "I asked Luna if she knew any enchantments for an invention of mine, she recommended Runes instead. I asked if she could give some advice on what runes to use, she took the blueprints, and wrote down some instructions. I expected her to do so _after_ she had rested." She shrugged, before turning back to the now burning pancakes in front of Celestia, and silently pointed a claw. After Celestia finally turned to look, she gasped and quickly salvaged the pancakes before they became inedible. Pinkie started giggling, causing the princess to join her in shared giddiness. They even managed to get a chuckle out of Yamano, who turned to start leaving. Before she could, Pinkie caught the guardians twin-tail in her hooves. She didn't speak when Yamano turned back, allowing Celestia to do so instead.

"Won't you stay for breakfast?" She gestured towards the tower of pancakes, which had tripled in size in the brief time they had spoken. Yamano quirked an eyebrow before her eyes flicked to rest on Pinkie, who had followed her gaze and was guiltily scratching at the back of her head. She ran a hoof over her face, before slowly starting to nod.

"Sure thing."

* * *

After their breakfast, which was far too large what with how many pancakes Pinkie ended up cooking, Pinkie and Yamano took their leave and headed towards the train station. Yamano's legs were still sore from the long walk she had taken the day before, which hadn't gone unnoticed by the pink enigma. Not that it was hard to see, what with how every left step was replaced by a slight limp. She furrowed her brows while regarding the guardian in front of her.

'_On one hand, it'd probably make her sad if I said anything about it. I don't want her to be sad. But on the other hand, I'D be sad if I DIDN'T say anything about it. And I don't want to be sad. But. Well. Hrm._' The crease on her forehead deepened as she debated with herself. '_She did seem pretty down last night and this morning… I feel like I should say something, but what?_' Her thought process was cut short by a cough from Yamano.

"I can feel the stress from here, Pinkie. What's up?" She had stopped walking just as they were about to climb onto the train platform, and an expression of concern graced her features.

Pinkie struggled with her words for a second, starting to speak, then failing, then trying again. When she finally figured out what to say, her eyes fell slightly. "Are you okay? Ponies call me a bit ditzy and airy but I'm not stupid, and something's been eating you since last night, I could see it." She rubbed the back of her head while she waited for a response. Yamano, however, had her eyebrows raised at the sudden question.

"I-…" Yamano started absently scratching at her cheek. "Honestly I thought I was covering it up decently well. Guess not, huh?" A sheepish grin from Pinkie was confirmation enough. She shook her head with an amused smile. "My mind has been stuck. It refuses to look beyond my less than ideal past, and it's driving me crazy." Pinkies eyebrows knitted themselves together again, but Yamano waved her off. "Look, shouldn't we get back to Ponyville? We need to check to make sure Twilight hasn't gone off the deep end with the situation Celestia forced onto her."

Pinkie couldn't help but giggle at stressed pony's choice of words. With a quick nod, she bounced onto the platform and headed to the train. While she was faced away from Yamano, however, her happy expression fell again. Instead of lingering on sadness, she forced her face to look determined. '_I will find a way to make you happy. Every pony deserves to be happy. Even if you don't believe me._'

* * *

"Yep. I don't like trains. I think I'm just going to walk between Ponyville and Canterlot from now on." Yamano stretched out her limbs, causing a cacophony of clicks to break the tenebrous silence surrounding the train station.

Pinkie let out a small laugh. "It wasn't THAT bad."

Yamano rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me for not wanting to go back into one of those death traps!" For the entire trip back from Canterlot, she had one hoof desperately clutching at her seat as the train rattled from side to side as it moved down the tracks. She shuddered at the thoughts that ran through her mind as she was thrown to and fro. "So, Twilight should be at the library by now, right?" When she got no response, she looked at her pink companion. When she saw the confused look in Pinkies eyes, she turned to follow her gaze.

Galloping through the town was none other than Twilight, who had a mob of ponies from across Ponyville hot on her tail. Twilight threw a brief glance over towards the two onlookers, and desperately yelled out.

"I COULD USE SOME HELP!"

Allowing a short chuckle to escape her lips, Yamano turned slightly to the party pony. "You should head back to Sugar Cube Corner, wouldn't want to be any later for work, right?"

Pinkie nodded her head, before bouncing back to her normal self. She grinned and with a wave, bid Yamano good luck. Said guardian turned back to the panicking unicorn, who was starting to turn a corner and leave out of sight. Using the light half of her magic, she sped past the mob and followed Twilight, before skidding to a stop in front of her, and gestured towards an alley between the buildings. Desperate for any kind of escape or cover, the studious pony obliged, but before she could burst out the opposite end of the alley, Yamano snagged her by the tail and pulled her down into a crouch. Twilight was confused and panicked harder.

"What are you doing?!" she spoke in hushed and hurried whispers. "They'll find me!"

Yamano scoffed. "Shut up and keep your head down!" Before Twilight had a chance to retort, she cast one of the few true spells that the dark half of her magic could manage on its own, and forced the shadows surrounding them to blanket them, concealing the runaways from sight. After the mob had moved on, having been un-successful in locating their quarry, the guardian released the breath she had been holding. "I take it they found out about your tickets?"

Twilight nodded her head quickly. "Yeah they di-" She stopped abruptly and whipped around on her saviour. "Wait, how do you know about them?! Oh, please don't tell me you did this to try and-" She was cut off by a claw being placed over her lips.

"No." Yamano sighed tiredly. "No, I don't want a ticket. I found out through Pinkie. She… appeared in Canterlot to ask about my birthday of all things." Twilight simply melted with relief. Yamano took a moment to glance about outside the alley and found that their path to the library was in fact clear. "Come on, we can head back now. Its… well, I would say 'safe' but it's not like you were in any true danger."

Twilight snorted with indignation. "Felt like danger to me!" Before she could continue, she suddenly found it very difficult to walk, as the fatigue of the day started to set in. To force the issue, her body decided that would be an excellent time to yawn. Before either of them knew it, they were standing outside the entrance to Golden Oak library.

Yamano was halfway through opening the door when they heard a few voices inside. She closed her eyes in the hopes she was just hearing things, but her fears were realised when she recognised every voice speaking. She halted in opening the doors and turned to face Twilight. "Dash, AJ, Rarity and Fluttershy are inside." She paused to listen. "They're discussing plans to try and influence your decision." Twilight collapsed at this point and held her head in her hooves. Before they could plan out a course of action, Spike came running from elsewhere, obviously out of breath.

"Finally,… managed… to lose 'em…" He tripped over his own claws and landed in a heap next to Twilight. Yamano poked the tiny dragon on the top of the head.

"Don't relax quite yet, there's still company inside." She turned her eyes back to the distraught mare in front of her. "How do you wanna handle this?"

Twilight let out a whimper mixed with a sigh. It was obvious to the guardian that the day had been a headache, so she took the initiative and entered the library. Her sudden intrusion didn't go unnoticed, as all eyes turned to rest upon her. Her brow furrowed for a moment, before she returned the gaze, unflinching. She let the air hang to allow the brief, tenebrous silence that the shock had created to last. She decided to be the one to break the silence, letting out a sharp breath that she had been holding.

"All of you are going to stay quiet and listen. No butting in." She focused her gaze on each pony in front of her one at a time. "No arrogance." Rainbow started squirming. "No stubbornness." Applejack pulled her hat over her eyes. "No impatience." Rarity bowed her head. "And no apologizing." Fluttershy nodded quickly. "You're going to sit and listen to Twilight, and you will reflect on your actions." She swept her gaze across, and finding that no pony was refusing, she turned back and opened the door wider. The frustrated guardian stepped aside to allow the upset and tired unicorn and her dragon companion into the library, before heading towards the door to her basement dwelling. "If there's any issues, I _will_ hear about it. so please just let her speak." The four ponies in question just nodded quickly in confirmation as she started to head down the stairs, closing the door a little harder than she had intended.

She immediately set to work with something that had caught her attention earlier that day. Although it hadn't cliqued at the time, her training as an assassin had made her far stronger than she realised. '_My strength is substantial, sure. Although I'm not quite sure that I'd be on somepony like Applejacks level._' She sat at a makeshift desk that had very little in the way of actual fixings and got to work repairing her claws. '_It seems high stress situations, no matter what they are, will cause me to subconsciously use more of my hard-gained strength. More days like today and my claws may just shatter._'

The tools necessary for the repairs were something that she never left without, but the fact that they were so fiddly made it difficult for her to use. Being unable to use traditional magics like telekinesis and transmogrification meant that she had to do everything manually, and hooves do not help in fiddly jobs. Her mounting frustration was proving detrimental however, as a single slip of the prongs caused a huge setback, and she had to start over. After two more such incidents, she gave up and angrily tossed her tools onto the desk and decided to try and brute force the claws back into position.

It worked.

It didn't help her temper.

She had been keeping track of the conversation happening above her through the floor. They let her speak, and all of them seemed truly apologetic. She nearly went back up to have a… stern talking to with Rainbow Dash, however. She narrowly avoided that by bringing her 'response' to something significantly more acceptable. The muttering followed by scratching alerted her that Twilight was indeed sending a letter to Celestia as she predicted.

'_Good. Manipulative piece of-_'

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door to the basement opening and a couple of sets of hoof steps started to descend. Curious, she swivelled on her stool and gazed at the stairs. She was fully expecting Twilight, she guessed it was going to be some form of thanks. What she didn't expect was for her to also be followed by Spike, who was holding a letter that was definitely from Celestia, and also Fluttershy, who seemed to be intently staring at her. Although every time she managed to get their eyes to meet, the timid pegasus quickly averted her gaze. Deciding to take the initiative, she forced her mouth into a smirk.

"I take it Celestia sent back a letter with a full set of tickets for your friends, also?" That question seemed to catch Twilight off guard, as she was expecting to have to take the initiative in conversation. Her look went from surprised, to confused, to mildly annoyed in record time.

"That's Princess Celestia." All she got in response was a raised eyebrow. She rolled her eyes. "And yes, that was exactly what that letter was. How did-" Yamano raised a hoof to interrupt.

"I spoke with her earlier this morning. I was in on the plan, so to speak." Her eyes turned to look at the ceiling. Or floor, depending upon your perspective. "She's going to be doing this kind of… 'testing' quite a bit I'd wager."

Twilight was genuinely surprised. But the way she was speaking was starting to grate. "What's the issue with royalty? You seem to have no problem disrespecting them."

Yamano's eyes turned cold, and almost empty. They seemed to bore straight into the unicorns soul, and she couldn't help but squirm. "You haven't seen me disrespect anyone yet, Twilight. This is not disrespect. The fact that I even say their names is the highest respect they will ever have from me. It's the position, not the pony." Her tone was flat, not raising or lowering in any way. She closed her eyes for a moment before re-opening them. They were far warmer and held a great deal of curiosity instead. "That is beside the point. Is there something you needed? I doubt you came down here just to tell me the news."

Twilight tried her hardest to suppress the shudder that had forced its way into her nerves and failed spectacularly. That did earn a slight chuckle out of the guardian, however. She cleared her throat before continuing. "There was a ticket included for you as well. Princess Celestia had said that- uhm…" She briefly glanced at the letter that spike was holding. "Ah, right. That the strategies you had implemented would help with security greatly, and that you were no longer obligated to act as additional security. She hopes that you will consider attending as a guest."

Both of the guardians eyebrows shot up, before knitting together. After a long moment of silence, only her left brow rose instead. "I'll…" she trailed off before she finished her thought and nodded after a while. "I'll think about it."

That had seemed to satisfy the studious unicorn, as she gave a smile and started to head back up the stairs. "Spike, make sure she gets that ticket, alright?"

The dragon in question scoffed, before lightly shaking his head. He started walking down the stairs and seemed completely ignorant of the tense feeling that Twilight had experienced. Without saying much, but with a sizeable grin on his face, he handed Yamano her ticket.

"Thanks, Spike." She hesitated for a second before grabbing it with her claws. Before Spike could pull away though, she muttered something under her breath so that only the tiny dragon could hear. "_How in_ _Equestria do you put up with her demanding nature?_"

Said dragon merely chuckled. "_It's not actually that bad. She would be absolutely lost without me, and I don't feel like I've got anything_ _better to do most of the time._" That elicited a shrug from the clawed pony.

Yamano lightly placed the ticket in her claws onto the desk behind her, before turning back around. "So… is that everything?"

As it turns out, it wasn't. from halfway through the basement door, Twilight responded. "Fluttershy told me she had a few questions for you." She paused and looked back at the yellow pegasus. "Honestly speaking, that surprised me quite a bit actually. I'd have thought with your rocky start she'd want to be as far from you as possible." She shrugged before turning back around and leaving. "Not that it's any of my business."

This time, as Spike was walking back up the stairs, Fluttershy had managed to keep eye contact. It was obvious in the way that she was carrying herself that it was quite forced, and she was ever so slightly shivering as if every fibre of her being told her to leave and forget about it. Yamano couldn't help but tilt her head, at this point with curiosity growing exponentially. She beckoned with a hoof and pulled over a spare seat. She made sure there was a fair amount of space between the two, as proximity was likely to scare the poor mare far worse than her words. She hesitantly walked over and took the seat. Progress.

"So, what can I do for you?" She kept her tone neutral. Yamano had an idea where these questions were headed but decided to play dumb a little longer.

"W-well, uhm…" she trailed off ash she thought about what to say.

'_okay, good start, she isn't running or screaming._'

"F-first I… I wanted to say th-thank you." She shivered at something unseen to Yamano. "For… For protecting me. A-and for helping me through the forest."

Yamano failed to stop herself from scoffing. '_Roll with it._' "It was extremely obvious you never wanted to be there in the first place." Fluttershy looked to be about to say something on the contrary, but Yamano held up a hoof. "I know you went in there to help Twilight and I, but it doesn't take a detective to figure out how bloody scared you were." Fluttershy gasped at the strong language but didn't press the issue. "Someone had to look out for you, because odds are you wouldn't be able to." She shook her head with a tired droop, before looking back to the pegasus sitting across from her. Her silence prompted Fluttershy to continue.

"O-Okay. Uhm. The- the second thing is… is wh-... it's what I-"

"Okay answer me honestly Fluttershy." The pegasus in question quickly nodded, discarding her previous question in leu of this sudden order. Yamano stared into her eyes, making sure none of her residual malice and anger was reflected in her gaze. "Are you afraid of me?"

Fluttershy made the motion to say 'no', but she hesitated. She wasn't sure how she felt. Not anymore. "I-…" her brow furrowed. "I think I was at first." She shook her head. "Actually, that might be a definite. I was absolutely terrified of you." Realising what she said, she quickly covered her mouth with her hooves, before quickly saying: "I- I didn't mean to offend!" When Fluttershy saw that Yamano was just sitting patiently, hardly batting an eye at being told she was feared, it reassured her to keep talking. "I-I just, I live around animals more than other ponies, so my- my instincts are more tuned to the prey and predator dynamic than most, and I-" Yamano was certain she was starting to hyperventilate. "I-It was the first thing I could draw a comparison to and you just seemed to fit the bill at the time, and I'm sor-*inaudible mumbling* ! " Yamano had decided to try a different approach to calming down the distressed mare by forcibly covering her mouth with her hoof. She raised all the claws on one hoof into the air, and started bringing them down in a countdown, making sure it was in Fluttershys direct line of sight. The pegasus in question visibly calmed down with each breath she was able to take. Once she was suitably calm, Yamano took control of the situation again.

"Fluttershy, don't be sorry that you were afraid of me." She felt her mouth twitch into a self-pitying smirk. "in fact, I ban you from apologizing to me about that." She raised a brow, before the smirk turned playful. "And hey, I'd say living with the animals helped you far more than it has hindered you. It's given you some survival instincts, even if they are rather… basic, compared to some." The look that Fluttershy gave was quickly shot down. "The instincts, not the company." This time the pegasus nodded in understanding. She finally removed her hoof from Fluttershys mouth as she rested her back on the edge of her desk. "So, you calm enough to ask your question?"

Fluttershy made the motion to speak, but nothing came out. She spent a long time just sitting and thinking until she finally gathered the courage to ask. "Its.. about what I… overheard in the forest." She took a calming breath. "Is… is it all true?... You're an assassin?"

The assassin in question shifted her vision to stare back up at the ceiling. '_Yeah, figured as much._' She released a breath that she had felt start to burn with lack of oxygen. She didn't make a move, other than lightly flicking her eyes to look at Fluttershy. "Yes. I am-, or at least, _was_ an assassin." She closed her eyes and shook her head, before tilting her head back to stare intently at the ceiling. "The most efficient and effective assassin within all of Archades' history. They even gave me a moniker for my reputation and… choice of weapon. The 'Reaper Assassin' they called me." She held her head in her left hoof with her eyes closed as she waited for the timid pegasus to digest the information.

Fluttershy, however, stared intently at Yamano. '_It's obvious she doesn't like remembering this, but I need to know… I'm sorry Yamano._' No matter how she thought of the revelation, a single question kept cropping up in her mind, and it was a question that she was ashamed to even be capable of thinking of. But she decided to go with it, as it seemed she wouldn't be able to come up with anything else. Steeling her nerves, she spoke. "…How many?"

This time, the assassin opened her eyes with a brow raised. '_…Not the question I expected._' She shrugged. "Three hundred and seventy-six." Fluttershys eyes widened to the size of saucers. Apparently she wasn't expecting an accurate answer. Yamano frowned after a while. "There's something… odd about taking a life, Flutters. There's only really two ways to go after it happens." She started playing with her claws as she continued, refusing to keep eye contact. "You either enjoy it, take pleasure from the rush, and forget all those that you've killed." Fluttershy looked Ill after that explanation, so she decided to continue further. "Or, you find it disgusting. You remember the faces of each and every pony you've killed, and it eats away at you until you're nothing but an empty shell of the pony you used to be." She couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lungs. "I like to believe I'm the latter, as I've never enjoyed the act…" She violently shook her head at the memories that were threatening to force their way forwards. "But unfortunately, that means I'm under constant torment, both while awake and asleep."

Fluttershy nodded at those words, and she drew her own conclusion. "Nightmares?" All she got in response was a sour smile. They let the air hang for a moment, before Yamano spoke again.

"Every single time I sleep, without fail." She could feel tears starting to build pressure under her eyes, and swiftly turned her head to hide them. "It- it's always one of two, and all they do is force me to relive everything." The distraught guardian held her head in both hooves and started trembling slightly as her memories barraged against her mind. In her eyes, she was no longer sitting in the basement under the library. She was back in that same, dark, anti-magic cell, watching as a twisted silhouette loomed over her.

Fluttershy felt her own tears start to form, and quickly rose from her seat to envelop the ex-assassin in a hug. Her voice had lowered to an almost inaudible murmur as she started apologizing. Much to her astonishment, Yamano didn't shrink away from the contact and spent the next few minutes shedding all the tears she had held back over the years. She had to be strong back then, but no longer.

After her sobbing had stopped and her tears had dried, she tentatively removed herself from Fluttershy's embrace. She quickly rubbed her eyes and gave as brave of a smile as she could muster to the incredible pegasus before her.

"Thanks. I… I guess I needed that." It seemed that Fluttershy had indeed started crying along with her, as she sniffed before answering.

"Anytime." She had a patient smile as she gave the guardian space to clear her head.

"I shouldn't keep you any longer. You probably have something you need to be doing." She dismissively waved a hoof in the direction of the stairs as she lightly picked up the blueprint she had discarded on her desk earlier. She feverishly started writing a list of materials as she heard the tell-tale sound of a pegasus' wings. She stopped in mid-flow, before turning back around. "And Fluttershy?"

The pegasus in question paused in mid-air to look at Yamano with a tilted head. "Yes?"

Now that she had the attention of her current guest, she found herself hesitant to speak. There was something that she had desperately wanted to say, but something in her mind told her that it would have been a bad time. Deciding against it, she shook her head. "Never mind. Enjoy your day."

Thoroughly confused, Fluttershy merely nodded in thanks and flew up the stairs and out of the basement. Yamano turned her attention back to the list she had started but found herself unmotivated to finish. Her mind had seemed to slow to a crawl, playing the past conversation over and over in her head. Resting her head on the desk, she sighed.

'_I'm too tired for this…_' She sighed again, a sudden relaxation taking hold of her body. '_So tired…_' She tossed the blueprints onto a corner of the desk before heading to her bed. Almost as soon as she had laid down, she felt the blanket of drowsiness overtake her, and fell into what was sure to be another nightmare-riddled sleep. But at that moment, she couldn't care less. She was too tired to care.

'_Let them come… I'll just destroy the nightmares… from the… inside…_'

* * *

…** yeah, I based Pinkies mane off Steven Universe. What of it? :D Oh, also, sorry this took…. Wow, 5 months? 6? Yeesh, sorry! Just kinda hit a massive block, even monsieur Columbus couldn't help.**

**Also, figured I'd… hint at a lil something at the end of the chapter.**

…**what does 'Shadowshy' mean to you?**


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